CHENNAI: A 27-year-old man from Tenkasi district was allegedly murdered, beheaded and his body dumped in a well, while his severed head was buried separately in Courtallam, in a case that has shocked the district.
Police have arrested three youths in connection with the murder. During interrogation, the accused allegedly confessed that they killed the victim after he made sexual advances toward one of them.
The victim, Mahendran (27), was a resident of Valasai village in Tenkasi district. He left home on July 6 and did not return. His wife, Bhuvaneswari, initially went to the Senthamaram police station to lodge a missing complaint. However, she received a phone call from some of Mahendran's friends, who claimed they had all gone on a trip to Ooty and asked her not to search for him. Believing them, she returned home without filing a complaint. After nearly 10 days without hearing from her husband, Bhuvaneswari became suspicious and lodged a missing complaint at the Senthamaram police station on July 14. Police registered a case and began an investigation.
During the investigation, police found Mahendran's motorcycle abandoned near a pond on the road between Mela Kadayanallur and Kasidharmam. The breakthrough led investigators to detain three youths, including Krishnan (24) of Mela Kadayanallur, for questioning.
According to police, the accused confessed that Mahendran had taken one of them to consume alcohol and later allegedly made a sexual proposition to him. The youth reportedly informed his two friends about the incident. The trio then met Mahendran again and consumed alcohol together before attacking him with a wooden log and stones. Police said the accused later purchased a knife from a nearby supermarket, stabbed Mahendran to death and severed his head.
Investigators said the accused threw the headless body into a small well located inside a dense Seemai Karuvelam thicket near the Kadayanallur New Bus Stand along the Madurai-Tenkasi National Highway. The severed head was allegedly taken to Courtallam and buried in a pit near the Courtallam police station in an attempt to destroy evidence. Based on the confession, a police team led by Puliyangudi Deputy Superintendent of Police Namachivayam, along with Senthamaram Inspector Arul Samraj and Kadayanallur Inspector Christy, recovered the headless body with the assistance of Fire and Rescue Services personnel. Forensic experts examined the scene before the body was sent to Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital for post-mortem. Police later recovered the severed head from Courtallam based on information provided by the accused.