On Wednesday, wanting money to buy liquor, Velu and his friend Balan decided to steal the silver waist cord of Satish. They took the boy to an isolated spot and attempted to remove the cord. When Satish resisted, both of them strangled him and in the impact the boy fainted. Both the men thought that he was dead and so after removing the waist cord, they threw the boy into nearby bushes, pledged the cord in a pawn shop and then purchased liquor.