CUDDALORE: The chopped body of a 30-year-old man packed in three suitcases was recovered from a canal in Pasikulam near Vriddhachalam on Sunday evening.
The matter came to light when children playing near the canal saw the suitcases and experienced a foul smell emanating from them. They immediately informed about it to their parents, who in turn alerted the police.
On information, a team headed by Vriddhachalam DSP Venkatesan and Karuveppilankurichi sub-inspector Narasimha Jothi rushed to the spot. However, they could not immediately retrieve the suitcases, as it was stuck in the 15-foot-deep canal. Fire and Rescue Service personnel from Vriddhachalam were roped in to recover the baggage. The news of the operation spread like a wild fire in the region, with people from nearby villages thronging the spot to see officials in action.
On opening the suitcases, the officials found severed body parts of a man. They immediately rushed the body to Muniyambakkam government hospital for post-mortem. Later, during inspection, police found a mobile phone and a discarded SIM card from the spot. Using the device, the personnel contacted one Ethirajulu, a resident of Pulianthope in Chennai, who informed them that their son Venkat Rao (30), an ATM security supervisor, had been missing for the past four days and the number belonged to him. According to a source, “The officials found head in a bag, legs and hands in the second one and the torso in the third.”
The police registered a case and were investigating. Meanwhile, sources said that the father of the deceased along with his mother, Chellammal, were on their way to the Muniyambakkam government hospital to identify the body. Sources said that further action would be taken after the verification. The incident caused a flutter in the village.