A 55-year-old security guard on the outskirts of Chennai was beaten to death late on Thursday night even as he tried to foil a robbery attempt at a toll plaza. Venkatesan, the security guard, worked at an under-construction toll plaza on Outer Ring Road in Nemilichery near Avadi. When he was on duty on Thursday, a gang of thieves reportedly attempted to rob lorry drivers near the toll plaza.
According to a report in The Hindu, unidentified persons arrived at the scene on a motorcycle with iron rods in hand. Threatening the lorry drivers parked nearby, the men reportedly robbed them of valuables including mobile phones and cash. The men, while on a robbing spree, were stopped by Venkatesan who came to the rescue of the lorry drivers.
According to a report in the Times of India, Venkatesan was bludgeoned to death with an iron rod when he attempted to stop one of the unidentified men from carrying out the robbery.
As per a report in The New Indian Express, the men managed to flee from the spot soon after. Shivakumar, the lorry driver who was being attacked by the men, also sustained severe injuries. Venkatesan and Shivakumar were rushed to a nearby hospital. While Shivakumar was badly wounded, Venkatesan was declared brought dead.
The report adds that the men were also behind the attack on a software engineer earlier that evening. Ashok Kumar was returning home from work when he was attacked by the gang who robbed him. They reportedly took his valuables including a mobile phone, cash and also took away his motorbike.
The Thiruvallur district police have picked up two men in connection with the robbery on Friday.