COIMBATORE: Two, including a 16-year-old boy, were arrested on Friday for brutally murdering their friend and posting a selfie with the corpse on social media in Kinathukadavu near Coimbatore.
The deceased, S Ashwin (22) from Sikkalampalayam near Kinathukadavu, had consumed liquor in the house of his friend Vignesh at Sakthi Nagar on Wednesday night. They then slept in separate rooms.
In the late night hours, Madesh (21) and the 16-year-old boy entered the house and murdered Ashwin by stabbing him multiple times with a knife, slit his throat and smashed his head with a hammer.
They then recorded a selfie video with the corpse, while grabbing the knife in their mouth and sent it to their friends on WhatsApp, before fleeing from the spot.
As the shocking video triggered an uproar, the Superintendent of Police A Pavan Kumar Reddy formed three special teams, who perused surveillance cameras in the neighbourhood to nab the culprits.
Based on information that the two accused were at a railway bridge near Kodangipalayam, the police reached the spot. On noticing the police, the duo attempted to flee and jumped off the bridge. Madesh suffered a fracture in his hand.
The police secured them subsequently and admitted Madesh to Pollachi GH and then to Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital for further treatment. The accused claimed that a dispute arose between them and Ashwin after an argument over buying him liquor, which led to the attack. Police seized the two-wheeler, two knives, a hammer and two cell phones.