Driver Ravi (42), who was one of the victims involved in the Wednesday hacking incident near Coimbatore, who escaped alive with two bullet wounds, is still in a critical condition.

According to Dr Muthukumar, an orthopaedic surgeon at a private hospital in Singanallur, Ravi had to undergo a four-hour surgery for removing the two bullets that were lodged between his lungs and heart. His lungs had shrunk and he was in a critical condition when he was brought to the hospital. Even after the surgery his lung condition had not improved and so he continued to be on ventilator support.

The doctor said that Ravi would be under observation for the next five days.

Meanwhile, the Coimbatore District Police have secured 12 persons and are on the lookout for a few more in connection with the murder of three persons at the L&T By Pass Road–Tiruchi Road junction en-route to Sulur on the outskirts of the city, on Wednesday.

Four persons were secured near Palladam, Tirupur District in the wee hours of Thursday and three more subsequently. Following the arrests, five others surrendered before the Sulur Police on Thursday evening.

Wednesday’s murder is believed to be an act of retaliation or revenge for the murder of an advocate at Thiruvidaimarudur Police Station limit, in Thanjavur District – on April 3, 2015. In the Thiruvidaimarudur murder, twelve persons were arrested. The prime accused in the case was Lolly Manikandan.

Those arrested include Prabhu (30), Saravanan (38), Karthi (28), Saranraj (27), Rajan (22), Vivek (25), Appu (22), Saravanan (25), all of them hailing from Kumbakonam.