Body in locked house: Cops on hunt for techie

Chennai

On June 18, the police recovered the nude body of a man from a house in Pozhichalur that has remained locked for three months. The deceased was identified as Palani Murugan (38), a Malaysian citizen, born and brought up there with his mother. He had come to Tiruchy in 2019 to meet his father, but could not return after losing his passport and visa. Palani also had a few health issues.

The post-mortem found no injuries on the body, said sources, adding Palani’s body was later handed over to his brother Dhanapaul.

During investigation, officials found that Palani had become friends with Madan, a software engineer who stayed in the rented house, a few months ago. Madan reportedly promised to arrange for Palani’s passport and visa. After the body was found, officials asked both Madan and his roommate Sethupathi, also a techie, to come to Chennai for inquiry.

Sethupathi told police that while he left for his hometown during the lockdown, Madan had visited the house several times. But his mobile phone was out of reach for the past few days, he added. Now, the Shankar Nagar police are trying to trace Madan with the help of mobile phone signal.