CHENNAI: A 29-year-old man employed with a private airline in Chennai was murdered by his girlfriend and three men in Pudukottai. His body was cut into pieces, transported 400 km and buried in the sands at Kovalam, police said on Tuesday. They have arrested the woman, Bhagyalakshmi, 38, and are on the lookout for the men.
Police said M Jeyanthan, ground staff for Thai Airways at the Chennai international airport, had told his sister on March 18 that he was going to their native place Villupuram.
However, he did not reach there and his phone remained switched off. His sister, P Jeyakruba, 41, an advocate in the Madras high court, filed a missing person complaint with the police on March 21.
Investigators perused Jeyanthan’s call records and traced him to Pudukottai. They zeroed in on Bhagyalakshmi based on the call records. Police said the woman was a sex worker and had met Jeyanthan for the first time at a lodge in Tambaram in May 2020. They subsequently got into a relationship and Jeyanthan tied a ‘thali’ for her at a temple at Mayilam near Villupuram without the knowledge of his family. In January 2021, the two split up, police said.
Police are yet to establish the motive for the murder, but they suspect it could be to do with the fact that Jeyanthan had given Bhagyalakshmi a lot of money. Police are also probing why the killers chopped up the body and transported it such a long distance.
After interrogating Bhagyalakshmi, police said she had called Jeyanthan to her house in Pudukkottai and picked up an argument. She then called her friend Shankar, who brought two other men. The cops quoted Bhagyalakshmi as saying she and her friends murdered Jeyanthan and cut the body into pieces.
They wrapped up Jeyanthan’s legs and hands in plastic bags. Early on March 20, the gang brought the severed pieces to Kovalam near Chennai. They buried it at an isolated spot and returned to Pudukottai.
On March 26 morning, Bhagyalakshmi hired a cab and again travelled to Chennai with the remaining body parts and buried them at Kovalam. Police said this time a temple priest helped her. Police informed the revenue officials to dig out the body parts at Kovalam.
However, an investigation officer said, the accused gave contradictory statements about the murder. “We are not sure why the gang members brought the body parts all the way from Pudukottai to Kovalam. Or why they brought the second set of body parts after a week to dispose near the same place,” said the officer.
Police said M Jeyanthan, ground staff for Thai Airways at the Chennai international airport, had told his sister on March 18 that he was going to their native place Villupuram.
However, he did not reach there and his phone remained switched off. His sister, P Jeyakruba, 41, an advocate in the Madras high court, filed a missing person complaint with the police on March 21.
Investigators perused Jeyanthan’s call records and traced him to Pudukottai. They zeroed in on Bhagyalakshmi based on the call records. Police said the woman was a sex worker and had met Jeyanthan for the first time at a lodge in Tambaram in May 2020. They subsequently got into a relationship and Jeyanthan tied a ‘thali’ for her at a temple at Mayilam near Villupuram without the knowledge of his family. In January 2021, the two split up, police said.
Police are yet to establish the motive for the murder, but they suspect it could be to do with the fact that Jeyanthan had given Bhagyalakshmi a lot of money. Police are also probing why the killers chopped up the body and transported it such a long distance.
After interrogating Bhagyalakshmi, police said she had called Jeyanthan to her house in Pudukkottai and picked up an argument. She then called her friend Shankar, who brought two other men. The cops quoted Bhagyalakshmi as saying she and her friends murdered Jeyanthan and cut the body into pieces.
They wrapped up Jeyanthan’s legs and hands in plastic bags. Early on March 20, the gang brought the severed pieces to Kovalam near Chennai. They buried it at an isolated spot and returned to Pudukottai.
On March 26 morning, Bhagyalakshmi hired a cab and again travelled to Chennai with the remaining body parts and buried them at Kovalam. Police said this time a temple priest helped her. Police informed the revenue officials to dig out the body parts at Kovalam.
However, an investigation officer said, the accused gave contradictory statements about the murder. “We are not sure why the gang members brought the body parts all the way from Pudukottai to Kovalam. Or why they brought the second set of body parts after a week to dispose near the same place,” said the officer.
