City chef dies at party held in ECR farmhouse

The circumstances leading to the death of Michael Raj (35), who was chef at a star hotel on Radhakrishnan Salai and a resident of Church Road, Besant Nagar, remain unclear. According to sources, Michael Raj’s wife Panchavarnam got a call around 10.30 pm from the farmhouse informing her husband had met with an accident and had been rushed to the Royapettah Government Hospital. However, when Panchavarnam reached the hospital, she was told that her husband was brought dead. Since there were no visible injuries on the body of the victim, Panchavarnam raised doubts over the accident theory. 

When contacted, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Neelankarai, S Pandian said the victim was drunk and drowned in the pool at the farmhouse. “He was immediately rushed to the hospital where he failed to respond to treatment and died,” Pandian said.