Blood-stained car leads cops to missing man's body at Minjur

CHENNAI: A day after a Chintadripet resident complained about her husband going missing, police on Friday recovered from

Maduravoyal

a blood-stained car in which 36-year-old S Kathiravan was allegedly kidnapped. They later recovered his body in Minjur.

On Thursday evening, after Kathiravan's wife approa ter Kathiravan's wife approached them, police registered a case. After ascertaining from her the possible spots where he could have gone, police scanned CCTV camera footage at Periyar Statue on Anna Salai and found a man jumping out of a car. After they fo und the car, with blood stains on the rear seat, police identified the man seen jumping out as Thiruvottiyur resident Suresh. During interrogation, he said he was in the car when his friend

H Yusuf

and four others bundled Kathiravan into it. He claimed he had heard them discussing plans to eliminate Kathiravan and jumped out.

Based on Suresh's statement, police managed to track Yusuf and his friends Ganesh, Jaising and Loganathan and Balasubbramani in Trichy. The last four had undergone rehabiliation at one of Yusuf 's centres and had become his friends, police said. The five and Suresh were charged with Kathiravan's murder and are now in prison.

Based on preliminary investigations, police found Kathiravan had been working as an office assistant in an English daily for the past two years. He and

Amudha

have three children.

About 15 years ago, police said, Kathiravan's younger brother was lodged in prison when he met Yusuf, a resident of Maduravoyal. Yusuf, who ran three private rehabilitation centres in the locality, told him he was looking for a bride.After his brother came out of prison and told him about Yusuf, Kathiravan agreed to get his wife's sister Jayanthi married to Yusuf. After their marriage, Yusuf and his wife stayed at Kathiravan's house in Chintadripet.

Since then, police said, Yusuf had been demanding that Kathiravan transfer his property at

Chintadaripet

in his name and that he had refused.

“Moreover, he suspected that his wife and Kathiravan had developed a relationship. Yusuf had already lodged complaints in this regard with the Thirumanagalam all-woman police station in April and May,“ said an investigating officer. He then decided to elinate Kathiravan, the officer said.