Four youths were arrested by Kalavai police on Saturday, in connection with the murder of a local VCK functionary.

The police said the arrested persons were identified as R. Kaviarasu, 21, B. Mani, 22, G. Sarathi, 21, and S. Dinesh, 21. They were childhood friends near Kalavai town in the district. The victim was K. Sivakumar, 60, a VCK functionary in the area.

Initial inquiry revealed that the victim, Sivakumar was returning to his house near Kalavai town on Thursday, when a gang on two-wheelers allegedly hacked him to death. On being informed, the Kalavai police inspected the spot and sent the body to Government Medical College Hospital in Vellore for postmortem.

Relatives and residents in the village staged a protest to arrest the suspects. Superintendent of Police P. Sibin pacified agitated residents, who dispersed after assurance from revenue officials and the police that they would arrest the suspects.

Special teams were formed who analysed CCTV camera footage along the route. The teams also analysed reels posted on social media, in which the gang claimed to take revenge on local political functionaries.

The police said the teams traced the location of the gang to a hideout near Arani town in Tiruvannamalai and nabbed them. The gang, led by the key suspect, Sivakumar told the police that he had a dispute over borrowed money from the victim, who allegedly threatened him with dire consequences. Angered by threats, he allegedly hacked the victim to death, along with his friends.

A case was registered. Arrested persons were lodged at Central Prison in Vellore, and a probe is under way.