Techie murder: Mansion where accused stayed in grip of shock

Chennai

As new developments regarding the techie’s brutal murder in Nungambakkam railway station in broad daylight continue to unravel, DTNext spoke to youngsters and persons staying in and around the mansion. R Mohan, an employee of a private firm, who was staying in the same mansion said, “I was shocked to see Ramkumar’s picture flash in the media as a murder suspect. To my knowledge, as long as he had stayed in the mansion he had been a very silent person.”

Mohan added that Ramkumar remained locked in his room till evening on the day of the gruesome murder before setting out in the night. Meanwhile, a couple of persons, on condition of anonymity said that though the mansion had five CCTV cameras, none of them were functioning.

“Had the CCTVs been working, the police could have easily nabbed the accused immediately. The mansion has two floors with 70 rooms in total and around 100 persons were staying. Ramkumar stayed in room number 404 on the second floor of the mansion,” said an inmate.

Shankar, a worker in a nearby eatery said that he saw Ramkumar on the day of murder. “He came and asked for tiffin in the evening and he left without paying money. However, I did not ask him to pay as I thought he would return it. I was absolutely speechless when I learnt he was accused of murder,” he said.

Others like priests and flower vendors in the area, said they had seen Swathi on several occasions. “I didn’t know her name, but she would regularly buy flowers and worship at the Perumal temple located near the mansion,” said a flower vendor. A priest noted that Swathi was pious and made regular visits to the temple.