14-year-old’s body found in well with limbs tied up

The deceased was identified as Purushothaman, a 14-year-old boy from Venpakkam village in Chengalpattu. The police said that he has been missing since Monday and his family had lodged a police complaint.

According to the police, the family of four was from Villupuram, who had come to Chengalpattu about seven years ago. Purushothaman’s father, Murugan, works as a security guard, who would visit his wife Usha and two sons once a week.

On Monday, Purushothaman had informed his parents that he was going to the temple. This was a usual routine for the boy, an ardent devotee who used to visit the Sivan temple in the neighbourhood every evening without fail. However, that day, he did not return home from the temple.

On Wednesday morning, it was few college students who noticed a body inside a farm well in Venpakkam, near the temple that Purushothaman used to visit every day. They immediately informed the local police. The Chengalpattu Taluk police rushed to the spot and recovered the body. It was found to be that of the missing boy.

The police said his limbs were tied with his neck using a coil. As the well is situated near the temple, police suspect that he could have been murdered by a gang that is notorious in the neighbourhood for consuming liquor at a vacant land near the temple.

The police suspect that he might have quarrelled with the gang members about their activities near the temple, which could have led to his murder.