A 74-year-old man was beaten to death by a 25-year-old man on a Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) bus near Tambaram on Sunday after he refused to read the place names flashing on the LED board. The incident occurred on the 70-G route bus running between Guduvancheri and Vadapalani.
Details of the Incident
According to police, the assailant, identified as Amarnath, 25, boarded the bus at the Tambaram bus stand. At the Tambaram MEPZ bus stop, the elderly man, Chandrasekharan, 74, got on and sat next to Amarnath. Witnesses told police that an argument erupted when Amarnath asked Chandrasekharan to read the place names on the LED board. The elderly man said he could not read them and suggested that Amarnath ask the conductor instead. Amarnath insisted, but Chandrasekharan continued to refuse.
Escalation and Attack
The conductor, hearing the commotion, asked Chandrasekharan to move to another seat. However, as the elderly man tried to get up, Amarnath pulled him back down, strangled him with his bare hands, and repeatedly punched him in the face and chest. Chandrasekharan collapsed unconscious. The driver immediately stopped the bus, and some passengers took the elderly man in an autorickshaw to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
Arrest of the Suspect
Amarnath attempted to flee but was caught by passengers, who beat him before handing him over to police at the Chromepet police station. He has been booked for murder and arrested. Police suspect Amarnath was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. A native of Villupuram, he worked as a mason in Chennai. Chandrasekharan was an electrician from Padappai near Tambaram.
