CHENNAI: Railway police in Thiruvallur on Wednesday arrested a 29-year-old man on charges of murder.
The victim has been identified as S Karthik (28).
The homeless Karthik and his wife Indira have been living under a flyover near Periyakuppam railway station. The couple earned a living by selling beads and necklaces in trains passing through the station. Meanwhile, the accused, S Thamizharasan (29) of Vettaikaran in Tiruttani, stayed with his wife near the second platform at Putlur railway station. The couple used to sell balloons on trains.
On Tuesday night, since it rained heavily homeless couples belonging to a nomadic community have sought shelter on the platforms of Periyakuppam railway station. Around 10.30 pm, a passenger accidentally stepped on Thamizharasan’s feet. A startled Thamizharasan woke up and started venting his anger at the passenger.
Upon hearing this, Karthik confronted Thamizharasan and told him not to use obscene words. Their argument snowballed into fisticuffs and in the melee, Thamizharasan broke a bottle and slit Karthik’s throat,” police said.
Before others on the platform could react, Thamizharasan and his wife boarded a train bound for Chennai and escaped, a railway police officer said. Thiruvallur railway police along with Chennai beach police personnel held inquiries and arrested Thamizharasan on Wednesday.
Lorry loses control, rams into bike and kills 29-year-old
A 29-year-old man died in a road accident near Maraimalai Nagar allegedly after a tanker lorry lost control and rammed vehicles that were waiting at a traffic signal. Guduvanchery Traffic police said the deceased, Ramalingam, was an electrician. On Wednesday morning, he was on his way to work along with his relative Iyappan, when they reached the signal along Kattankulathur Highway. As they were waiting at the signal, a container lorry that was headed to Chennai from Erode allegedly lost control, and hit the median before ramming Ramalingam’s bike.
The bike was dragged for some distance. Ramalingam died on the spot, while Iyappan survived with minor injuries. Meanwhile, the lorry driver abandoned the vehicle and fled the spot. Upon information, Guduvanchery Traffic police rushed to the spot and sent the body for postmortem. A case was registered and further inquiry is underway. Ramalingam is survived by his wife and a two-month-old child.