SALEM: A teenager was murdered by his 24-year-old friend on Thursday over an altercation, after which the suspect died by suicide, the police said.
The deceased Class 10 student was identified as N Kowshik. The 15-year-old’s body was found in the Magudanchavadi police station limits, while his friend Sivaraj was found dead in the Tharamangalam police station limits.
According to the police, Kowshik and Sivaraj had been friends for several years. The two, however, got into quarrel for the past two weeks. Kowshik had assaulted Sivaraj during one such altercation, following which the latter is suspected to have planned the murder as an act of revenge.
On Thursday, Sivaraj took Kowshik from his house on a two-wheeler to a secluded spot on the Magudanchavadi-Idanganasalai Road. He then strangled Kowshik with a rope and then left his two-wheeler behind before walking to a nearby burial ground.
The Magudanchavadi police sent Kowshik’s body for autopsy, while the Tharamangalam police recovered Sivaraj’s body from the burial ground and sent it for post-mortem examination.
The police have registered a case and are further investigating the circumstances behind Kowshik’s alleged murder and Sivaraj’s subsequent death.
An investigation is also under way to establish the sequence of events and the circumstances that led to the dispute between the friends, the police said.
(Assistance to overcome suicidal thoughts is available on the state health helpline, 104, and on Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline at 044-24640050.)
