CHENNAI: A 21-year-old man, undergoing treatment at a private de-addiction centre, was allegedly murdered by the security guards of the centre around 4.30 pm on Thursday over remarks made by the youth against the suspects’ family members.
The suspects have been identified as C Babu (57) and K Sivakumar (50). Police said they themselves were patients at the centre and had undergone treatment for alcohol addiction earlier. The two were in charge of taking care of the youth who had been restless for the last few days. When the youth made derogatory remarks on Thursday, the duo took a vegetable-cutting knife from the kitchen and slit his throat, killing him on the spot, police said.
The youth, a resident of Tiruvottiyur, had been admitted to the centre in July. The police said he had completed his schooling and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. His father runs a business and his mother is a homemaker.
Babu, from Rayar Palayam in Coimbatore, who had previously worked at an export company, had undergone treatment at the centre around one-and-a-half years ago, while Sivakumar, a resident of Kannadapalayam in Avadi who was a mason, was treated at the centre around two-and-a-half years ago.
The two men were responsible for security duties, and they also assisted patients with their daily needs, police sources said.
Following the murder, the Mangadu police sent the body of the youth to Kilpauk Medical College for post-mortem. A murder case has been registered under BNS Section 103 at Mangadu police station, and the two suspects were remanded in judicial custody on Friday.
The centre houses 163 inmates undergoing treatment for substance abuse and employs 30 people. It has a valid licence issued by the Institute of Mental Health. In October last year, over 30 inmates allegedly escaped from the facility after assaulting a security guard.