CUDDALORE: A 43-year-old man’s charred body was found in a cashew grove on Veerattikuppam-Muthanai Road near Virudhachalam on Thursday. The deceased has been identified as S Kathir Kaman, the branch treasurer of AIADMK from M Veerattikuppam village.
An Indian Army soldier was arrested by the police in connection with the alleged murder. Police suspected R Balakrishnan to be the perpetrator. According to police, Kathir Kaman, Balakrishnan, and S Prabhakaran consumed alcohol together in the grove on Wednesday evening. During he booze session, an argument took place between Kaman and Balakrishnan.
Prabhakaran later informed Kathir Kaman’s wife, Jayakodi, about the dispute but she did not suspect anything unusual as such disagreements were common.
“When Kaman did not return home by the next morning, his family began searching for him. They discovered his charred body in the grove early Thursday morning and alerted the U Mangalam police,” police sources said.
Superintendent of Police S Jeyakumar visited the crime scene and supervised investigations. A sniffer dog led the police to Balakrishnan’s house. Police have detained Prabhakaran for questioning. “Preliminary probe suggests that Balakrishnan killed Kaman, set his body on fire, and fled the scene,” police officials said. Balakrishnan was arrested by a police team from Villupuram on Thursday evening in Chennai.
He has been brought to Cuddalore for further investigation. The charred body has been sent to Mundiyambakkam Government Hospital for autopsy. Further investigations are under way.