Conservancy staff arrested for murder in Saligramam

CHENNAI: Chennai Police on Saturday arrested two conservancy workers with the City Corporation in connection with a murder of a man in Saligramam.

The arrested persons were identified as D Prabhu (40) and N Soundarya (37). They were employed as temporary workers with the civic body for the past 18 months, police said.

The victim, Vijay (27) of Mettukuppam, was in an extra marital relationship with Soundarya who was separated from her husband and lived with her two sons.

Police investigations revealed that Vijay moved in with Soundarya three months ago. He worked as a painter.

Vijay allegedly indulged in verbal and physical abuse of Soundarya’s sons, aged 14 and 12, which had not gone well with Soundarya.

Recently, Soundarya had complained to her co-worker, Prabhu about the abuse faced by her sons. The two also spent time together, for which Vijay had picked up arguments with the woman. “Recently, Vijay sent a voice message to Prabhu on Whatsapp, threatening him to stay away from the woman,” a police officer said.

On Friday night, around 10 pm, Vijay was drunk and picked up an argument with Soundarya. The boys were out for a shop while Prabhu had come to the woman’s rescue. The two men engaged in a fistfight and in the melee, Prabhu took a kitchen knife and stabbed Vijay, after which Prabhu and Soundarya fled the scene.

The boys who returned home found Vijay in a pool of blood and alerted the neighbours who informed the police. Virugambakkam police registered a case and sent the body to the Kilpauk Medical College and hospital for post mortem. On Saturday, police arrested Prabhu and Soundarya.