Mentally ill man held for murdering pavement dweller

The accused D Hemanth of Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, was undergoing treatment for mental illness at a private hospital in his hometown from 2012 to 2017 before he was shifted to an asylum near Porur in 2019. Hemanth went missing from the home a month ago and was wandering in different parts of the city. On Friday night, he hurled a heavy stone on the head of the deceased Moorthi (65). Passersby alerted Sembium police who retrieved Moorthi’s body and sent it for post-mortem. A case was registered and Hemanth was secured. He was produced before the magistrate and admitted to the Institute of Mental Health in Kilpauk as per the latter’s directions.