TIRUCHY: Five persons, including two minor boys, were arrested on Monday night for allegedly murdering a differently abled man near Thiruvanaikoil over child sexual assault. The deceased was identified as V Vinod Kumar (35) from Tagore Street.
According to police, Vinod was abandoned by his family, and used to seek alms in front of the Srirangam temple.
He lured minor boys in the area and allegedly sexually assault them on several occasions. On March 24, Vinod took three minor boys to a secluded area near a brick kiln on Tagore Street near Keela Kondayampettai and sexually assaulted them.
On April 7, Vinod’s parents lodged a man missing complaint on April 17 with Srirangam police. They registered a case and launched an investigation. On May 4, police recovered a human skull and thigh bones near the brick kiln after they were dragged into the open by stray dogs.
During the probe, police found out that three youths — R Rajkumar (23), C Sriram (21), A Sridhar (20) — who saw the child abuse, confronted Vinod and demanded money from him. This sparked off a altercation and the three attacked Vinod with a large stone. He sustained severe injuries and died on the spot.
Investigation revealed that the three youths and the boys burnt the body using petrol and buried the remains near the brick kiln. Subsequently, Srirangam police arrested five suspects on Monday night and remanded the adults to Tiruchy Central Prison. The minors were sent to the juvenile home in Thanjavur. Police are searching for one more boy involved in the murder.