The city police arrested a 19-year-old college student on Friday for brutally murdering a farm owner and burying him in a farm near Kambar Nagar, at Ondipudur.
City police commissioner A.K. Viswanathan said Velladurai alias Raja, a final-year student of a private college in Sulur, hacked Karthikeyan to death with a sickle angered over his illicit affair with his mother. “Raja was staying along with his sister and mother Maheswari, 42, in a tiled house rented out by the victim at his farm,” Mr Viswanathan said.
On the day of the incident, Raja, who returned to his residence midway from a movie, was shocked to find Karthikeyan in a compromising position with his mother.
“Angered Raja planned to finish off Karthikeyan and hid in the bushes in the dark waiting for Karthikeyan to return. When Karthikeyan came in his two-wheeler on the narrow mud road, Raja intercepted the vehicle and hacked him to death on the spot,” Mr Viswanathan said.
Raja then dug a pit and buried the victim there. “He also rode Karthikeyan’s two-wheeler and left it near the house of Thirunavukkarasu, who owns a farm adjacent to his house.
Raja tried to misguide the police investigation by taking advantage of a rivalry between Thirunavukkarasu and Karthikeyan,” police sources said.
The murder came to light a few days later when the victim’s mother Sathyabama, who went in search of her son, stumbled upon his feet protruding in the farmland.
The cops initially did not suspect Raja as he cooperated during the enquiries. “His behavior, too, did not raise any suspicion among the investigating cops, who started their probe in different angles.
However, later, when we fixed the accused, he went into hiding, but got caught later,” Mr Viswanathan added.
On a tip-off, special police teams, led by deputy commissioner of police (law and order) Hema Karunakaran, and consisting of assistant commissioner Chandramohan and inspectors Sakthivel and Ganesan and sub-inspector Raj Kumar, picked up Raja on Friday.
The police seized a bracelet, two rings, two-wheeler and sickle from him. “We are now probing to know if Raja took the help of others in executing the murder,” the top cop said.