Murder of youth near Pollachi: Five more arrested

COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore district police on Wednesday arrested five more people in connection with the murder of a youth at a centre for persons with developmental disorders near Pollachi.

The five arrested have been identified as Kavitha, 53, her husband Lakshmanan, 54, their daughters Shruthi, 23, and Shreya, 20, and Shaji, 27, one of the alleged masterminds behind the murder. Kavitha, Shruthi and Shreya are trustees of the organisation that runs the centre.

A senior police officer said the five accused confessed to their involvement in the murder of S R Varunkanth, 24, of Karavali Madappur in the district who suffered from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). He was admitted to Yuthira Charitable Trust (Special Children Care and Training Centre) in Rathinasabapathy Puram near Pollachi more than three months ago.

The police earlier arrested six people, including the caretakers of the centre, in connection with the murder.

The arrests were made after police exhumed the victim’s body from a farm at S Nagoor near Nadupuni, where it was buried on May 13 — a day after the murder. According to police, Varunkanth was assaulted with sticks and plastic pipes by some of the accused from May 9, allegedly in response to aggressive behaviour he exhibited.