Man’s body exhumed after 4 yrs, father-in-law, driver held

The deceased, identified as Senthilkumar, had been arrested in 2014 for murdering his brother Rajkumar in a property-related dispute and police said Senthilkumar was murdered by his car driver Rajesh Kanna at the behest of the deceased’s wife Menaka and her father Arun.

While Arun has been arrested, Manimangalam police are investigating the role of Menaka in the murder.

Menaka was arrested in November 2019 for kidnapping her mother-in-law Padmini and Rajesh Kanna who was absconding in the kidnap case since then was traced to his hideout in August this year and arrested.

During interrogation, Rajesh Kanna reportedly spilled beans about murdering his employer Senthilkumar.

Manimangalam police who had registered a case of man missing in 2018, rushed to Alampoondi village and exhumed the skeletons. The shirt recovered from the pit had bloodstains and four stab marks, said police. The post-mortem will be done on Saturday, said an official. Based on his confession, Menaka’s father Arun, and Kanna’s accomplices Harikrishnan and Kasinathan have been arrested.

Rajesh Kanna, who has been lodged in Puzhal prison, will be taken into custody for further investigation and to establish the role of Menaka in the murder, since she has been with Rajesh Kanna since Senthilkumar went missing and was involved in the kidnap of her mother-in-law Padmini. “Also, she often claimed to have spotted Senthilkumar in different places, raising suspicion about her involvement. Rakesh Kanna is also the main accused in the murder of Senthilkumar’s father Moongilan in 2018,” police said.