COIMBATORE: Five months after the Karamadai police began a probe into an alleged human sacrifice case, the suspect, G Muthu (43) of Puliyakulam near Ramanathapuram in Coimbatore, was held in Nilgiris on Monday. The suspect has confessed to killing the man as part of human sacrifice and performing rituals, police said. The identity of the victim, an elderly male, is yet to be established.
According to police, Muthu worked as a labourer in a farm where the body was found in Coimbatore. He was living with his wife, mother and two daughters. After his wife and daughters broke their relationship with him a few years ago, he took to black magic and started performing rituals.
On October 8, 2023, Karamadai police received information about a decapitated and decomposed male body found buried in a private farmland at Devanapuram near Thekkampatti. Blood stains were seen near the spot where the body was buried, and police initially thought that they could belong to some animals.
Police thought the body could have been dragged to the spot by stray dogs and over a period of time soil got deposited over it. But after forensic tests revealed that it was human blood, police began investigating the human sacrifice angle.
Suspect hid victim’s bike in Annur
Postmo rtem of the body revealed that the victim was aged around 50-60 and had been murdered. Police inquiries revealed that the land belonged to an elderly woman Subbammal who had leased it to Chandran. The suspect Muthu worked as a labourer there. He had been missing since the incident came to light, police said. During investigation at the crime scene, police allegedly found Muthu’s Aadhaar card, but there was no clue about the identity of the victim,
Recently, police came to know that Muthu had been visiting his friend and a temple at Kolakombai in Nilgiris district, and alerted their counterparts there. The Nilgiris cops secured Muthu on Monday and handed him over to the Karamadai police. During interrogation, he allegedly told police that he had killed the man and performed some rituals, police sources said.
“He picked up the unidentified person from near a Tasmac outlet in Karamadai by promising to buy him liquor and food. After taking him to the farm land, Muthu offered liquor and murdered him. Muthu had also hid the victim’s bike in Annur. The tailoring tag on the shirt worn by the victim also had an Annur address. We suspect he could be from Annur and are checking man-missing complaints. We are also investigating whether the suspect murdered anybody else in the name of rituals,” sources said.