Two auto drivers arrested for Kancheepuram cop’s murder

Mohan Raj (38), a first-grade police constable who was transferred to Sungavachatram last week, was beaten to death when he questioned the men who were consuming alcohol inside a school premises near Sungavachatram last Sunday night.

According to sources, police special team noticed auto tyre marks while inspecting the spot of murder. Later, after going through the footages from CCTV cameras on Sungavachatram-Tiruvallur Road, police inquired 30 auto drivers and 15 anti-social elements in the locality. While verifying the mobile phone records of the suspects, police found that Velmurugan (28) and Ellappan (26), both auto drivers from Kandigai, were present near the school when the incident took place. The duo initially denied any connection to the crime, but confessed to murdering Mohan Raj during further investigation.

The accused reportedly told police that they were not aware that Mohan Raj was a police constable as he was in plainclothes and new to the place. When he questioned them for consuming alcohol inside a school, they mistook the rebuke for an attempt to extort money. Due to this misunderstanding, they attacked Mohan Raj with beer bottles, the duo told the police.

After Mohan Raj fell unconscious, they dropped a huge stone on his face and fled the spot. As the murder created a flutter in the neighbourhood and among the police personnel, DIG Thenmozhi and Kancheepuram SP Santosh Hadimani visited the spot, and five special teams were formed to nab the murderers.