TENKASI: A seven-year-old murder case, wherein a man killed his brother over property dispute and abandoned the body, was cracked by a team of the Tenkasi police led by Superintendent of Police T P Sureshkumar. The accused, R Velladurai, was arrested by Kadayanallur police on Wednesday. The incident pertaining to the case took place in September 2016.
According to sources, Velladurai and his brother R Karuppaiah, residents of Karadikulam, were engaged in a property dispute. On September 21, Karuppaiah broke the starter of a farm-well motor in an inebriated state leading to a scuffle between the brothers. Following this, Velladurai thrashed Karuppaiah to death using a wooden log, wrapped his body in a sack, and dumped it near Krishnapuram Periyakulam bridge.
The Kadayanallur police had registered a case in connection with the incident. However, the inquiry came to a standstill as the police could not identify either the deceased or the accused. Against this backdrop, SP Sureshkumar revisited the case and formed a special team to inquire into its various angles, sources said.
"We found out that Karuppaiah went missing in 2016. But, his family members had not lodged any complaint. An inquiry with the family revealed that the corpse found near the bridge was that of Karuppaiah. Further investigation zeroed in on Velladurai, who later confessed to the crime. He has been lodged in jail," Sureshkumar told TNIE. When asked whether a DNA test was conducted to identify Karuppaiah's body, the SP said that the procedure was underway.