CHENNAI: CCTV footage from a nearby building at Poompuhar Nagar helped the Kolathur police crack the case of murder of a young medical practitioner a few days ago. The recordings showed who entered and left the house on the day Dr Rajesh was killed. Dr Rajesh’s cousin Mahendran banged his head to a wall after a drunken brawl.
“Realising that he had killed his cousin, he pushed the body in the sump and ran away from the house,” said a police officer. The extended family resides in different portions of the same compound at Poompuhar Nagar in Kolathur.
“There was an ongoing dispute over property in our native Sivagangai and also over a loan that was taken to help one of the brothers set up a business. Due to this, Rajesh stopped procuring medicines from the pharmacy run by Mahendran’s family. Dr Rajesh also asked other clinics, which he had earlier referred to his cousin’s pharmacy, to stop promoting it. This caused frequent quarrels between the cousins,” said one of Rajesh’s uncle, wishing not to be named.
On Tuesday night, Dr Rajesh invited cousins Mahendran and Vijendran and another mutual friend to his home for a drink since Dr Rajesh’s parents were away in Sivagangai for the wedding arrangements. “Vijendran and the other friend left after sometime. But Dr Rajesh and Mahendran stayed on the terrace till late in the night when they started quarrelling over the issue,” said Rajesh’s uncle.
Only after a foul smell emanated from the sump on Friday, the residents alerted police and Dr Rajesh’s body was retrieved. As police zeroed in on Mahendran based on CCTV recordings and questioned him, he confessed to the murder. Further investigations are on.