Retired GCC staff, DMK union leader killed in Villupuram; suspect held
The prime suspect, Urappakkam Ravi, along with two accomplices, allegedly abducted Kumar, strangled him with a rope in a moving car and buried his body in the Gingee forest area of Viluppuram district.
Retired Chennai Corporation employee and DMK-affiliated union leader, Kumar
CHENNAI: A 71-year-old retired Chennai Corporation employee and DMK-affiliated union leader, Kumar from Ayanavaram, was brutally murdered in connection with a high-value land dispute.
The prime suspect, Urappakkam Ravi, along with two accomplices, allegedly abducted Kumar, strangled him with a rope in a moving car and buried his body in the Gingee forest area of Viluppuram district.
Kumar, who had been PA to former DMK MP C Kuppusamy and a respected DMK trade union leader, had been overseeing a prime plot of land near Chennai's ECR Road on behalf of a relative based in Mumbai.
The land, worth crores of rupees, became the centre of a dispute when Ravi, a local operative, allegedly forged documents to claim ownership over it. After Kumar filed a police complaint, Tambaram authorities ruled in his favour, confirming the legitimacy of his relative's ownership. This decision reportedly enraged Ravi, sparking retaliatory plans.
On the afternoon of March 16, Ravi lured Kumar to Tambaram under the pretext of discussing the land. Kumar, who reached Tambaram from Ayanavaram by auto met Ravi and his two associates near the bus stand. They forced him into a car and drove around on the Chennai-Tiruchy National Highway. As they neared Chengalpattu, an altercation erupted, and the trio allegedly assaulted Kumar before strangling him with a rope. They took his body to Gingee and buried it in a cashew grove and then returned to Urapakkam.
When Kumar failed to return home, his family filed a missing person complaint with the Tambaram police. The police traced his last phone calls and found he was in contact with Ravi before going missing. During questioning, Ravi confessed to the murder and revealed the location of the body.
The Tambaram police arrested Ravi early Thursday and, based on his confession, nabbed his accomplices, Senthilkumar and Vijay from Poonamallee.
The murder highlights tensions over land grabs and document fraud in rapidly developing areas. A police officer said all the leads are being pursued to nab the remaining suspects, if any.
