Industrial unit owner killed, hunt on for duo

The deceased, A Prabakaran of Vyasarpadi, went to work as usual on Friday morning but did not return home even after 10 pm. His father Anandan grew suspicious, as Prabakaran's mobile phone went unanswered in the afternoon and was switched off when he tried to reach him around 10 pm. Following this, he went to the unit located on Ambattur-Vanagaram road to check up on his son.

The unit remained unlocked, and Prabakaran's retiring room had lights on and was locked from inside.

As the workers were not to be seen at the unit and there was no response to his calls, Anandan broke open the door with the help of those from the neighbourhood. Inside, they found Prabakaran lying in a pool of blood with injuries on his head and face that indicated that he was hacked. Anandan immediately alerted the Ambattur Industrial Estate police, who removed the body and sent it to Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital for post-mortem examination.

Inquiries revealed that the unit employed five workers. Three of them, all from Sivaganga district, had gone to their hometown on leave while two men from Odisha, who had joined work only a few months ago, were missing. As their mobile phones, too, remained switched off, police have launched a hunt for them. A special team has been formed to conduct the investigation.

The police are probing whether the Odisha duo had any dispute with Prabarakan or if he was murdered due to other reasons, including business rivalry, officials said.

Prabakaran, who got married two years ago, is survived by wife Nandini and a five-month-old child.