Who is Ramkumar? Not many can answer the question. None in Chennai where he spent just about three months, or back in his native, from where he was arrested on Saturday night, bringing an end to the desperate hunt for the elusive killer of the young Chennai girl, S Swathi.
The Meenakshipuram village near Shengottai in Tirunelveli is in a state of shock. Most of them are hesitant to talk to the press. Ramkumar, the 24-year-old son of R Paramasivan who digs trenches to lay telecom cable for a living, and Pushpam, a daily wage worker, has always remained elusive, says a classmate, from the Panchayat Primary School days.
As a child, he never played with his mates and as a teenager, he rarely interacted with others in the village. He would instead graze goats, sometimes flipping through a book, local villagers told Express.
“It was a shock to know that the boy is the suspect in Swathi murder case. He was always mild-mannered, who would speak only if spoken to. Otherwise, he would just walk by quietly,” said a middle aged woman who refused to identify herself.
There, however, was one person who had a different story. A woman from the village alleged that Ramkumar had once harassed a girl in the neighbourhood, who somehow managed to escape. The woman refused to identify herself or the other girl, stating that she was now happily married. Ramkumar studied mechanical engineering at the Einstein Engineering College near Alangulam, but has many arrear papers to clear.
Ramkumar finished schooling at his village school and went to study at government higher secondary school in Panpoli, and then to SMSS Boys higher secondary school in Shengottai where he studied up to class 12.
One of the changes that happened to him when he went out of the village was acquiring a mobile phone. It was a costly one, said one of them from his native village. He was always seen fidgeting with the gadget, he added. A boy from the neighbourhood remembers him as one who used to encourage them to study well.
A senior at college remembered Ramkumar as a reserved person, who had a limited circle of friends. He never participated in college activities. “Both friends and seniors used to make fun of him during college. It is beyond imagination to think of such a person committing a brutal murder,” the senior told Sunday Express.
In Chennai where he landed three months ago, he is even more elusive. He stayed at the cramped A S Mansion in one of those countless interior lanes of Choolaimedu for a rent of Rs 1,500 in a room he shared with Natesan, a 50-year-old working as a security guard at a private firm in Ekkatuthangal near Guindy.
When the police team showed up with a photograph, Natesan identified his roommate, about whom he but knew almost nothing. Not his education or occupation, family details or what he was doing in Chennai. “Natesan had no idea about him except for his name,” a senior police officer with the city police told Express. “He had kept it that way. Not much conversation happened between us. He was always aloof,” the officer quoted Natesan as saying.
A native of Sholanganallur in Trichy district, Natesan has been working as a security guard in the city for some years now. Express visited his workplace and attempted to speak with him, but he was unwilling to speak.
Sources said Natesan had informed the police about the suspicious nature of his roommate when they released the suspect’s picture. “When we finally pinned down Ramkumar as the prime suspect, all his details and a photograph was recovered from the ledger in the mansion,” said an investigating officer.
There were about 200 other staying in the mansion, none of whom knew anything much about the young man. “He kept to himself, never interacting or mingling with anyone else,” said a senior official.