THENI: A 19-year-old college student was arrested on Sunday for allegedly murdering two schoolboys by pushing them into a well near Bodi on Friday. The suspect was identified as G Kesava Balaji (19), a second-year college student from Bodi. The deceased were brothers identified as C Sreeharis (11) and C Sabareesh (10), sons of Chinnathambi, a hotel worker, and Selvi. The boys were studying in Class VI and V at a government-aided school in Renganathapuram.
According to sources, the brothers went missing after school on Friday, and the parents lodged a complaint. During the investigation, CCTV footage showed the boys with the suspect consuming ‘koozh’ at a nearby temple during Aadi Friday celebrations. When police questioned Kesava, he allegedly confessed to taking the boys to a private coconut grove near Karattupatti Muneeswaran Odai and pushing them into a 150-foot-deep well.
Fire and Rescue Services personnel retrieved the bodies from the well on Saturday. Police said that Kesava suspected the two boys of stealing his phone. He allegedly lured them to the grove on the pretext of catching pigeons before pushing them into the well. The missing case was later altered to kidnapping and murder.
