CHENNAI: A 45-year-old man was found dead in mysterious circumstances in his automobile service station at Madhavaram, near here, early Thursday morning.
Until evening, the police said they were inconclusive of the motive of the killers, even as the victim’s gold chain was reportedly missing. B Ethiraj, a resident of Manjambakkam, running the service station near his house, did not return home on Wednesday night. When his son E Prem Kumar went to check at the workplace, he was shocked to see Ethiraj lying dead in a pool of blood with head injuries. The chain he was wearing and the cash kept in the station were also missing.
On information, the Madhavaram Milk Colony police rushed to the spot and conducted enquiries. “The motive is yet to be ascertained, we cannot say at this stage that it is a case of robbery. We are investigating,” said inspector R Sundaram.
A few persons had picked up quarrel with Ethiraj and his brother a few days ago and police suspect it could be murder out of revenge. “We are looking out for those persons. But it is not yet clear if they are the real murderers,” said a police source.
Police said the assailants had attacked Ethiraj only on the head, using a blunt object. Preliminary examination of the body suggested he was killed after midnight and left to die in the station.
2 Held for Robbery
Police claimed to have solved the daylight robbery reported in Villivakkam on Monday with the arrest of two women on Thursday.
On Monday last, a housewife and a resident of Villivakkam complained she was tied down at knife-point and robbed of 20 sovereigns of gold. Investigations revealed that the women knew the victim for over a month and visited her residence along with two men on the day of the robbery. The gang reportedly spent some time at the residence of Soundari on Monday afternoon, threatened her and robbed her.
“We are on the lookout for two more men who are party to the crime as we are yet to recover the robbed jewels”, a police official privy to the investigation said.
Costly watch lifted
The police arrested a 46-year-old manager of a wristwatch showroom in a luxury hotel at Nungambakkam, after he allegedly stole a Rolex watch worth Rs18 lakh on Wednesday.
Police said the arrested was Mustaq Ahamed, a resident of Mugappair.