CHENNAI: Two years after a man went missing, the skeletons tumbled out exposing a tale of greed and illegal affair after the remains were unearthed near Villupuram district on Friday.
The deceased Senthil Kumar was murdered in February 2018 by his car driver Rajesh Kannan, 40, and T Arun, 66, the father-in-law of the deceased, along with his friends -- autorickshaw driver N Harikrishnan, 42, friend S Kasinathan, 70, a resident of Gingee in Villupuram. The diver Rajesh Kannan also played an important role in the murder of Senthil Kumar’s father Moongilan in July 2018.
The incident came to light when Senthilkumar’s mother M Padmini sent a complaint letter to the Manimangalam police station on August 8 seeking them to trace her missing son from February 2018 onwards. Padmini also filed a habeas corpus petition (HCP) at the Madras High Court.
The elderly couple Moongilan and Padmini had two sons Raj Kumar and Senthil Kumar. Moongilan, a real estate businessman from Kancheepuram, divided his property among his sons in 2014. Rajesh Kannan allegedly instigated Senthil Kumar, who was allegedly unhappy about the way property was being divided, to murder his brother Raj Kumar. Senthil heeding to the advice murdered his brother in 2014 and served prison sentence. “During the incarceration, Senthil’s wife Menaka and Rajesh developed intimacy and visited several tourist places on Senthil’s income. This continued for four years and the couple decided to eliminate Senthil and steal his wealth,” said the police.
As planned by Rajesh Kannan, Menaka’s father Arun, Harikrishnan and Senthil Kumar visited their friend Kasinathan in his hometown Villupuram. The gang stabbed Senthil Kumar to death at Alampoondi village near Villupuram and buried him.
“For six months, Menaka maintained that she has been visiting Senthil, whenever his parents would ask her why he hasn’t visited them. After Moongilan, the father of Senthil Kumar, enquired about Menaka’s relationship with the driver, the couple realising that the elderly man was about to find out the truth was eliminated in July 2018 through a gang hired by Rajesh,” said the police.
In November 2019, Padmini, the mother of Senthil, started questioning Menaka and Rajesh Kannan’s luxurious way of life. Since she was the sole owner of the property to be left alive, the duo kidnapped the elderly woman from her relatives’ house in Ayanavaram at gunpoint. While the Ayanavaram police arrested Menaka, Rajesh Kannan was absconding.
“During interrogation, Menaka exposed the hideout of Rajesh from which he was arrested in July. It was after the habeas corpus petition filed at the Madras High Court recently, the Manimangalam police came to know about the kidnap case in Ayanavaram in Chennai,” said the police. During interrogation Rajesh Kannan confessed the murder of Senthil Kumar and conspiracy in murder of Moongilan. A senior police officer said that after lodging a complaint of kidnap, Padmini told about her suspicion of her son missing. The request for details sent to the Manimangalam police was not reciprocated and the issue just subdued. If the details were shared earlier the case would have been cracked earlier, said the police.
Based on Rajesh Kannan’s information, a police team unearthed the body at Alampoondi village near Villupuram in the presence of revenue officials on Thursday. Police seized Senthilkumar’s shirt with his blood spilled on it. He sustained four stab injuries on his body. Apart from it, they found Senthilkumar’s driving license, debit card, and his mobile phone. The police team preserved the belongings which will be submitted before the court.
“We are yet to investigate the role of Menaka in the murder of Senthil Kumar since she claimed that she had visited him several times even after he went missing. She is presently out on bail,” said the police. While Rajesh Kannan is in prison, the police team arrested Arun, Harikrishnan and Kasinathan and remanded them to judicial custody