VILLUPURAM: A 17-year-old boy, identified as K Ramachandran from Kothanur, was found murdered near Thiruvennainallur on Tuesday. Police arrested four of his former friends in connection with the murder.
According to sources, Ramachandran was sleeping outside his grandmother's house when the attack happened. Later, his grandmother and neighbours found him lying dead with injuries on his head. The police were immediately alerted and sent the body to Villupuram Government Medical College Hospital in Mundiampakkam for an autopsy.
Ramachandran's family and villagers blocked the Cuddalore-Sithur road on Wednesday, demanding the immediate arrest of the murderers. Following the police's intervention, the protest was withdrawn.
The investigation identified P Mohanraj (20), R Kandasamy (18), A Gajendran (19) and a minor boy aged 17 as suspects in the case who were arrested the same evening. Police sources said that they were friends with Ramachandran. A few months back, Mohanraj was arrested in connection with a robbery and a ganja sale. Since then, Ramachandran stopped contacting all of them. On Tuesday night, Mohanraj and Kandasamy had an argument with Ramachandran at Saravanapakkam bus stop following which they allegedly murdered him during sleep, said the police.
All the accused were booked under relevant sections of the IPC and further investigation is underway.