A 45-year-old employee of Chennai Corporation, whose body was found in mysterious circumstances at Kodungaiyur on Sunday- two days after he left home- is suspected to have succumbed to alcoholism.
The victim, V Venkatesh, a resident of Nehru Jothi Street in Ayanavaram, was a corporation sweeper in Zone 6. Married, with three sons, the civic body employee was addicted to alcohol and would disappear from his home for several days together only to return again. On Friday, Venkatesh had left for work in the morning but failed to come home that night. His wife Mariammal and sons were not unduly worried because of his frequent disappearing act.
Meanwhile, residents of Cotton Canal in Kodungaiyur found an unconscious man lying near the canal around 9 am on Sunday and called emergency services. On examining the victim, paramedics pronounced him dead. A police team, led by assistant commissioner Govi Manoharan, found a pay slip in the victim’s pocket, which helped in identifying him. “The body had no injuries,” an inspector said.
Ruling out foul play, the inspector said Venkatesh had succumbed to acute dehydration after a bout of drinking.