COIMBATORE: Coimbatore District (Rural) police have formed six special teams to investigate the suspected murder of a 23-year-old man with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), who had been staying at a home for persons with intellectual disabilities in Pollachi. Two of the six individuals associated with the home have been detained, while the others are being traced.
The missing youth has been identified as S. R. Varunkanth, son of T. Ravikumar and Banumathi of Amman Nagar, Karavali Mathappur. Trustees of the home initially told the parents that their son had gone missing during an outing to Aliyar Dam. However, the family later received information that their son had been severely beaten by staff on 12 May and obtained a video showing him with serious injuries, seated on the floor.
According to police, two of the detained suspects confessed that the youth had died and his body was buried at farmland owned by the trust at S. Nagoor near Naduppuni. However, attempts to exhume the body on Friday were halted after the exact burial location could not be determined.
Varunkanth had been admitted on 4 February to the Yuthira Charitable Trust (Special Children Care and Training Centre) at Rathinasabapathy Puram for rehabilitation.
“The family agreed to pay Rs 40,000 per month and Rs 1 lakh as a donation, of which Rs 50,000 had been paid. They were allowed to visit the youth once every six months,” police said. “On 15 May, after learning of his disappearance during the alleged outing to Aliyar Dam, his father Ravikumar lodged a complaint with Aliyar Police. The trust cooperated initially and shared this version with the authorities.”
However, CCTV footage from the previous week showed no evidence of the youth being present at Aliyar Dam. The family later received credible information about physical abuse at the home, along with a video confirming the injuries. On Thursday, they approached Superintendent of Police Dr K. Karthikeyan, who transferred the case to Mahalingapuram Police Station, which has jurisdiction over the care home.
Two days ago, all six suspects comprising staff and trustees went absconding. Police have since detained two, who revealed that the youth had been murdered and buried.
Meanwhile, officials from the District Differently-Abled Welfare Department reported that 26 inmates were residing at the home. Most have since been relocated to their native places. Seven were forcibly moved to the house of a suspect’s relative in Pollachi following the incident. Of these, six were rescued on Thursday and one on Friday. Efforts are ongoing to reunite them with their families.
“The home was recognised (without government funding) by the Commissionerate for Welfare of the Differently-Abled on 12 May, based on its progress over the past three years. It has now been closed due to the case and violations related to fee collection,” sources added.