CHENNAI: A 29-year-old man from Jharkhand who was working in the city as a mason was beaten to death in Velachery after he objected to a group of youngsters dancing on the road and allegedly hit them with drumsticks.

The deceased was identified as Ramesh Mandal, who was staying at Selva Nagar in Velachery. The incident happened on January 27 when Ramesh was walking home after buying vegetables. His friends who stayed with him were with him, said the police.

As they were walking by, a group of boys, most of them school and college students, were dancing on the road. Officials said one of the boys’ leg hit Ramesh, which irked him. He reportedly hit some of the with a drumstick that he had bought from the vegetable shop.

Enraged by this, one of them picked up a wooden log that was lying nearby and attacked Ramesh. He suffered serious injuries to the head and collapsed on the spot. He was rushed to Government Royapettah Hospital,

Following his death on Wednesday night, the Velachery police arrested nine youngsters, four of whom are minors

where he succumbed to the injuries on Wednesday night, police said.

Following Ramesh’s death, Velachery police arrested nine youngsters, some of the school students. Officials said four of the accused are minors. Further investigation is on.