VELLORE: M Suresh (19) and Prabakaran (24) have been evading arrest for more than eight months in a murder case after threatening the police that they would end their lives and leave a suicide note implicating them. However, the police mustered courage and arrested one of them on Wednesday night, eight months after the murder-crime.
Though the police had enough evidence to prove the involvement of Suresh and his friend Prabakaran, both of Vettuvanam village in the murder of Thirumagal (55), a money lender, of the same village, police hesitated to arrest them.
The reason for this hesitation arose from the fact that an ex-serviceman had died while in their custody in Melpatti Police Station. Senior police officials issued an order not to keep Suresh and Prabakaran in custody to avoid further controversy in case they committed suicide while in custody.
“The two youths threatened us whenever they were picked for inquiry. They said that they will leave a suicide note implicating us before ending their lives. Fearing the legal complications and the scenario at that time, we let them go,” said a police official.
The background to the case is as follows: Police, following information from the locals, recovered the decomposed body of Thirumagal on January 12. The outcome of the inquiry that followed revealed that “Prabakaran had borrowed money from Thirumagal. He failed to return the money on time. The woman frequently went to his house and scolded him,” said the police.
On January 7, she again went to Prabakaran’s house to ask for the money. Prabakaran and Suresh strangulated her to death. “The two then stuffed her body into a gunny bag , took it in Prabakaran’s bike and buried the body in Palar riverbed near Olakasi, two km from Vettuvanam,” said a police official.
Eyewitnesses also confirmed that the two were transporting a gunny bag to the riverbed between 3 pm and 5.30 pm on January 7. The police had filed an eyewitness statement under section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure at the Judicial Magistrate Court in Vellore.
The police finally arrested Suresh on Wednesday night and remanded him to the Borstal School in Vellore. “We are on the lookout for Prabakaran, who is absconding,” said Inspector T Santhalingam.