Nepali worker's body left unattended over jurisdiction dispute

CHENNAI: The body of a 34-year-old Nepali construction worker remained unattended for several hours in an open ground near Perumbakkam on Wednesday (July 29) night after Perumbakkam and Thazhambur police disputed jurisdiction over the spot where the body was found.

Police said an unidentified man was found dead with cut injuries in a vacant land along the border of the Perumbakkam and Thazhambur police station limits around 8 pm. Residents alerted the Perumbakkam police, who visited the spot but reportedly said the location fell within the Thazhambur police limits. When the Thazhambur police arrived, they, too, claimed the spot was outside their jurisdiction.

As a result, the body remained at the ground for hours, causing concern among residents. Later, senior officers from the Tambaram City Police, led by the Pallikaranai Deputy Commissioner of Police, inspected the spot.

As the exact jurisdiction remained unclear, officials sought assistance from the Revenue Department. After midnight, revenue officials and VAOs arrived with boundary maps and conducted a field survey using measuring tapes. They confirmed that the spot fell under the jurisdiction of the Thazhambur police station.

Following this, Thazhambur police registered a case, recovered the body and sent it to the Tambaram GH for a post-mortem.

The deceased was identified as Bahadur (34), a Nepali national working as a construction labourer in the locality. Bahadur had misbehaved with a woman a few days ago and was assaulted by a few of her relatives. He was admitted to Perumbakkam GH before being discharged. He was later found dead under suspicious circumstances in the vacant land. Thazhambur police have registered a case under suspicious death. Further investigation is on to find the exact cause of death.