CHENNAI: A 25-year-old software engineer reportedly jumped to death into the well of the spiral staircase in his office at Kanthanchavadi, after his shift on Thursday night.
Police said Arvind (25) of Tiruvanmiyur, working with an IT major on MGR Road, left his cubicle on the ninth floor after shift around 8.30 pm. He chose the staircase and climbed down up to the seventh floor from where he reportedly jumped off after scaling the four-foot high railing. He fell down head first with a loud thud, alarming the other employees of the firm.
He was rushed to a private hospital in the vicinity by his friends, where the doctors suggested that he be moved to the Government Royapettah Hospital. The doctors declared him dead on arrival.
A native of Ranipet in Vellore, Arvind joined the firm in 2013 and was staying with his friends in a rented house at Tiruvanmiyur. His father Velandi is serving as additional general manager with BHEL, Ranipet.
Always aloof, the techie shared little about his personal life with his friends and roommates. Sources said Arvind was under medication for high blood pressure. He started the medication after his family informed him they were in the process of finding a bride for him. He had paid `7 lakh towards his studies. He also mentioned that he was finding it difficult to study while working.
Ruling out the possibility of accident, a senior police official said it was impossible to slip beyond the 4-ft railing, which was specially constructed to ensure safety.
No suicide note was recovered from the techie and none had seen him scaling the railing. Arvind’s body was handed over to his parents after a post-mortem.
Man Arrested for Murdering Friend
A 41-year-old man was arrested on Friday in connection with a murder, which was initially thought to be a hit-and-run case.
Police said Varadhaiyan (64), a casual labourer from Ariyalur, was found with bleeding injuries on Varadhamuthaiyapan street in Kothavalchavadi on Monday night. Rushed to the Government Stanley Hospital by passersby, he was declared brought dead on arrival. Suspecting it to be a hit-and-run incident, Elephant Gate Traffic Investigation Wing registered a case.
However, on suspicion, cops sought CCTV recordings from establishments in the neighbourhood. In one of the grabs, the victim was seen mugged by a stout man at around 10 pm. The unidentified man was seen beating him and fleeing from the scene.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Varadhaiyan along with a few others used to sleep on the pavements after work.
When Rajamanickam (41), a friend of the deceased, was picked up for interrogation he confessed to have committed the crime. Rajamanickam had lent money to the deceased who kept on giving excuses rather than returning the amount. This led to frequent quarrels between them. On the day of the incident, Rajamanickam, after returning from a movie show, found Varadhaiyan sleeping on the pavement and thrashed him. The case has been transferred to Kothavalchavadi police.