CHENNAI: On Wednesday, a 35-year-old sex worker, identified as M Deepa alias Vellaiammal, was beaten to death with a hammer during a dispute over money. Her body was then stuffed into a trolley suitcase by the accused, M Manikandan, a 23-year-old engineering graduate.
Manikandan was arrested on Thursday morning by the Thoraipakkam police based on CCTV footage from the area.
The Thoraipakkam police identified the accused as M Manikandan from Sivagangai, who was employed at a private company in Perungudi. He had been living with his mother at his elder sister’s house for the past month. Recently, his family had gone out of town, leaving Manikandan alone.
The deceased, M Deepa alias Vellaiammal, originally from Pudukottai, had been residing with her family in Madhavaram.
According to the police, Manikandan had arranged for Deepa to visit his house through an agent on Tuesday night. Later that evening, an argument over money escalated, and Manikandan attacked Deepa with a hammer, causing fatal injuries.
The police said, "Manikandan’s family, expected to return on Friday, informed him that they would actually come back on Thursday morning. To dispose of the body, he ordered a suitcase online, which was delivered on Wednesday. He then stuffed the body into the suitcase and, in the early hours of Thursday, left it near a construction site about 200-300 metres from his residence before returning home."
Passers-by who discovered the suitcase in the morning grew suspicious when they noticed blood stains and alerted the police. The body was recovered and sent for postmortem. CCTV footage was analysed, and local residents were questioned.
A resident from the ground floor of the building where Manikandan lived identified him as a resident of the first floor. Following questioning, Manikandan was confirmed as the accused.
Police reported that Deepa’s younger brother, who had been searching for her in Thoraipakkam, found her last known location near the crime scene but could not locate her.
He used the 'find my phone' feature on Deepa’s phone to trace her last known location but did not file a formal complaint with the police on Wednesday night.
Deepa’s body was sent to the Government Royapettah Hospital for postmortem. The police said that Manikandan is currently being questioned and will be sent for judicial remand soon.
A resident of Manikandan’s building commented, "Initially, when the police showed us the footage, we could not identify the person. But after viewing it for some time, we identified him as Manikandan, as the bandage on his hand was prominently visible."