Childhood mate’s brutal b’day gift: Chained, burnt alive
The accused is a MBA graduate, who was her classmate from Class 1
Nandhini (L); Vetrimaaran
(Trigger warning: The following content may cause emotional distress)
CHENNAI: A day before her 27th birthday, a software professional was burnt alive by her childhood friend who first blindfolded her and tied her hands and legs with a chain on the pretext of a pre-birthday surprise, at a ground in Ponmar in Chennai outskirts on Saturday night.
The Tambaram city police have arrested the accused, Vetrimaaran (27), a transman who even accompanied the victim to the hospital after setting her afire.
The victim, R Nandhini from Madurai, was staying at her relative’s house in Kannagi Nagar off OMR and was working in the city for the last two years after graduating in B Sc (Information Technology). The accused is a MBA graduate, who was her classmate from Class 1. Police said she was not aware of his feelings for her.
“She was friendly with a colleague which did not sit well with Vetrimaaran,” a senior police officer said. Not convinced by Nandhini’s response that the colleague was only a friend, Vetrimaaran urged her to spend her birthday eve with him, and took her to a temple, an orphanage and lunch before eventually murdering her.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Vetrimaaran had plotted the murder for a week and was carrying metal chains and locks, a pen knife and petrol in his bag.
Victim’s leg tied up with metal chains
Passerby noticed a woman on fire screaming for help and rushed to her aid. “When we reached the scene, the fire was put off and the severely burnt woman managed to give a phone number, which was Vetrimaaran’s. He was the one who identified the victim for us. If she had not given the phone number, it would have taken us a couple of days to ascertain her identity,” said an official with Thazhambur police station.
He accompanied her to the hospital. But when he gave evasive answers and acted as if he had not met her the whole day, the needle of suspicion turned on him. Investigations with her friends revealed that Nandhini spent the day with him. On detailed interrogation, he confessed to the murder. He was produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.