A two-wheeler key found in the scene of crime helped the Crime Branch-CID of the Tamil Nadu police solve what appeared to be a murder-for-gain case that remained undetected in Tiruppur district for more than a decade.
The case relates to the gruesome murder of Murugesan, 53, a labourer in a coconut farm, in Sundakampalayam near Udumalpet on September 26, 2012. The victim’s head was crushed and his mobile phone was not found on his body or the murder scene. Preliminary investigation by the Gudimangalam police showed the missing phone’s location in Kanniyakumari.
Suspecting the case to be that of a murder-for-gain, the local police thought that the accused would have killed Murugesan for money or valuables and escaped to Kanniyakumari. However, there was no further progress in the investigation that could corroborate the motive or lead to the arrest of accused in the case. Years later, the victim’s son, Gopalakrishnan, moved the Madras High Court seeking a probe by the CB-CID into his father’s murder.
Acting on the directions of the court, the CB-CID took over the investigation in the case on January 5, 2024. A special team formed to investigate the case visited the location where the murder took place. Perusal of case records revealed that a motorcycle key was found in the scene of murder. Also, investigators came to the conclusion that Murugesan’s mobile phone being found in the possession of a woman in Kanniyakumari was an attempt to divert police attention, sources in the agency said.
“Our investigation revealed that more than one person could have been involved in the murder of Murugesan. When the motorcycle key was taken to various duplicate key makers in the locality, one identified the design and recalled having made a similar key for a known person in Udumalpet. This input was crucial in detecting the case,” a CBCID official said.
Four persons — Easwaran, 55, Loganathan, 34, Vetrivel, 75, and Ponraj, 35, of Udumalpet — were taken into custody based on technical evidence and eye witness accounts. The gang confessed to having murdered Murugensan due to previous enmity. The boulder used to kill him was dropped in a well. They kept the mobile phone in the Coimbatore-Nagercoil train to mislead the police, the sources said.
“We were able to detect the case within 19 days of taking over investigation. On a couple of instances, the accused entered into a wordy quarrel with Murugesan over Easwaran’s extramarital relationship with a woman. On the night of murder, the accused who had planned to eliminate Murugesan had liquor and also offered him the drink. At an opportune time, they killed him and escaped from the scene,” the officer said.
