Thanjavur: Police today arrested at least six persons, including an mini bus operator, in connection with the murder of rowdy Madhan Chakraborthy near Kumbakonam.

The 35-year-old Madhan alias Madhan Chakraborthy, notorious rowdy and resident of Maruthanallur area, was hacked to death by an armed gang on the Sakkottai-Ayyavadi road on the Nattar river bank on Saturday morning.

Nachiarkoil police, who registered a case, are investigating. Meanwhile, preliminary investigations revealed the involvement of six persons, namely M Karthikeyan (34), R Edison (28), M Bragadeesh (24), K Prabhakaran (24), all hailing from Sakkottai, A Kaakka Pandi, load man hailing from Madurai (28) and C Rahul alias Vigneswaran (24) of Kudavasal.

Subsequently, police took them into custody and grilled them. In the interrogation, it was revealed that Madhan had been frequently disturbing Karthikeyan who owns four mini buses. A few days ago, a drunk Madhan assaulted Karthikeyan in front of others. A humiliated Karthikeyan wanted to take revenge. Therefore, with the help with his five associates he murdered the rowdy, police sources said.

Madhan, whose name figures in the rowdy list of Nachiarkoil police station, was detained under the Goondas Act in 1999. Besides that, 21 cases on various charges including murder, kidnap and intimidation have been registered in various police stations falling under Kumbakonam and Thiruvidaimarudur sub-divisions.

It is to be noted that his younger brother Mithun Chakraborthy, also a notorious rowdy, was killed in an encounter with police in Thanjavur in 2008.