TIRUNELVELI: Tirunelveli city police have arrested a 26-year-old man and three juveniles who allegedly murdered and buried a 20-year-old youth because he was friends with a 13-year-old girl, who happened to be a relative of one of the juveniles. The incident came to light when a suspect called up police control room in an inebriated state and informed them.
Police said the victim, E Arumugam from Tirunelveli, was murdered on Monday afternoon. The body was exhumed on Tuesday. The 26-year-old suspect has been identified as Sudalai alias Siva, a resident of Tirunelveli town.
“Arumugam and the suspects were acquaintances, as they used to work together as painters. He was allegedly in contact with a minor related to one of the juveniles. Although the girl’s family had shifted to another city months ago, the juveniles suspected Arumugam was in touch with her over phone,” sources said.
The girl’s relative sought help from his friends and Siva, to kill Arumugam. After buying alcohol from a Tasmac outlet in Gurunathan Kovil area, they took him to a secluded spot along Ramayanpatti road. After drinking together, they allegedly murdered him and buried his body among thorny bushes.
Later, in an inebriated state, Siva called the police control room and informed that an unidentified person had been murdered and buried nearby. Police traced Siva using his phone number, and located the burial site. Arumugam’s body was exhumed and sent to Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital for postmortem. Based on Siva’s statement, the three juveniles were also arrested.
Speaking to TNIE, Tirunelveli City police Commissioner, Santosh Hadimani said the suspects were secured within hours of the incident. Though the deceased and the accused belong to different castes, police ruled out any caste angle in the case. Family of Arumugam told media that he may have been killed over a wage dispute with one of the suspects.