Murder convict in TN arrested decade after jumping parole

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu police have arrested a murder convict ten years after he jumped parole while being lodged in the Puzhal central prison, sources said on Wednesday.

Venkitesan was arrested from Gingee bus stand by a team led by DSP of Police Priaydarshini on Monday.

While working with a company in 2008 as a daily wage labourer, Venkitesan entered into an extramarital relationship with the employer's wife. The daughter of the employer found this out and threatened to reveal it to her father. Infuriated, Venkitesan murdered her.

He was sentenced to death by the Poonamale, Fast Tract Court but on his appeal, the Madras High Court commuted his death sentence and he was lodged in Puzhal central prison in 2008.

He was let off on Parole from the Puzhal central prison from May 18 to 22,2011. During this time Venkitesan made good the escape and was untraceable.

A special police team was constituted under the leadership of DSP, Priyadarshini who started tracking Venkitesan using his old phone number and finally zeroed in on him at Gingee in Tamil Nadu.

Priyadarshini told IANS that she has been tracing the movement of the convict ever since she was given charge of the investigation in April this year and found that he was in Bengaluru for sometime. The officer said that he was traced to Ginjee, following which he was arrested at the Ginjee bus terminal on Monday night.

Police said that he was produced before the Villupuram magistrate court and later sent to Puzhal central prison.