CHENNAI: A 75-year-old man is believed to have been cut into two in a road accident at Tambaram.
While one part of the body was left on the spot, the other part was carried away by some vehicle for over 30 km away to Korattur.
The deceased man, identified as Vasudevan, a resident of New Perungalathur, was missing since Monday, the day cyclone Vardah crossed the city.
While it is puzzling how the body parts could have drifted apart for such a distance, the police say the lower portion could have got tangled with some vehicle and got carried away up to Padi near Korattur.
The case began as one of suspected murder when, on Tuesday, two legs of what resembled an elderly man were found in a vacant land near Korattur.
The next day, the torso, with the head almost smashed, was found on the side of the bypass road at Tambaram.
Vasudevan worked for priests, who helped in conducting the final rites.
Kalyana Varthan, a relative of Vasudevan, said, “We lodged a missing complaint with the Peerkankaranai police on Monday. Since we did not get an update on my uncle, we decided to visit all mortuaries in the city. We were told at the Government Chromepet Hospital that a headless body was found near Tambaram and we checked it. We identified it to be my uncle with the help of the ‘poonal’ (a thread worn by Brahmins).”
“On the same day we were told that the other half of the body was in Kilpauk Medical College and rushed to identify the legs of the body to be my uncle’s as he was suffering from a skin disease and had recently injured his toe nail,” Kalyana Varthan added.
Vasudevan left home on Monday, the day the cyclone crossed the city, along with two other priests, around 9 am.
When he did not return by evening, his family members lodged a complaint with the police.
“We learnt that he had boarded a bus from Guindy to Tambram. And due to the cyclone Vardah, there were no buses to Perungalathur. He might have been hit by a vehicle when he tried tocross the road,” Kalyanna Varthan said.
The family too say they suspect the lower part of the body to be dragged by any heavy vehicle from the Tambaram bypass to Korattur for around 30 km.
A case has been registered and further investigations are on.
The body was sent to Government Royapettah Hospital for autopsy and was later handed over to the family.