Two beggars murdered in Coimbatore

COIMBATORE: Two beggars have been murdered in the city in the last two days. While the city police have arrested a 24-year-old man for hacking a beggar to death in Selvapuram on Tuesday night, searches are on to nab the suspect – also a beggar – in the murder of a beggar near Kamarajapuram on Wednesday night.On Wednesday morning, the Selvapuram police received information that the dead body of a beggar, aged around 50 years, with injuries on the head and eyes, was found near the Perur check post. The police arrived at the scene and sent the body for postmortem. Preliminary investigations revealed that the unidentified beggar had been beaten to death by someone. The police collected CCTV footage from the surrounding areas and began investigations. They identified the suspect -- M Vijay, 24, of Parattai Appar, Kovil Street in Perur -- with the help of CCTV footage. He was arrested on Wednesday.Upon questioning, Vijay confessed to the crime and stated that he killed the beggar during a verbal duel on Tuesday night. The police booked Vijay under sections 194(3)(iv) of the BNSS and 103(1) of the BNS. He was remanded in judicial custody.According to police sources, Vijay murdered a fellow prisoner in 2018 when he was lodged in the Coimbatore Central Prison. He was out on bail, and his murder case trial is nearing completion.On Thursday morning, Srinivasan, 55, was found dead in a pool of blood near Kamarajapuram. Preliminary investigations revealed that Srinivasan and Velmurugan, 55, lived on the roadside in RS Puram. They used to visit shops in the surrounding areas to beg. A few days ago, they had a dispute over money. On Wednesday night, during a heated argument, Velmurugan allegedly murdered Srinivasan with a log.On being alerted, the RS Puram police reached the spot and sent the body to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital for postmortem.The police recovered the log used in the attack. A case has been registered, and efforts are on to nab Velmurugan.