Convict on bail arrested for rape, murder of 17-yr-old girl

Tuticorin: Nine days after a 17-year-old girl was found murdered, Tuticorin district police made a breakthrough in the case and arrested a historysheeter convicted in another rape and murder but out on bail for the crime. Police also confirmed that the girl was sexually assaulted. The accused has been identified as 38-year-old Dharma Muneeswaran alias Maveeran of Sayalkudi in Ramanathapuram district. South zone IG Vijayendra S Bidari said they zeroed in on him through meticulous and scientific policing.The girl from a village in Tuticorin was found dead in a bush on Mar 11 afternoon, nearly 300 metres from her home. She had gone missing the previous evening after she left the house to answer nature's call. Following a missing person report from her parents, police discovered her body with strangulation injuries to the neck. Superintendent of police C Madan told reporters that 10 special teams comprising 150 personnel were deployed for the investigation. Though CCTV was not available at the place where the girl was found dead, footage from 98 locations was collected.Additional ADGP law and order Maheshwar Dayal, south zone IG Vijayendra S Bidari, and DIG Tirunelveli range G Saravanan led the investigation. Nearly 300 ex-offenders from nearby districts and 100 recently released prisoners were inquired into. Around 50 people were subjected to detailed inquiry, and DNA samples of five shortlisted suspects were sent for analysis, but they yielded no results.Finally, a breakthrough came when a suspicious two-wheeler, earlier found abandoned near the scene and later gone missing, was linked with CCTV footage from a nearby windmill, showing its movement at the relevant time. Technical verification revealed that the vehicle's registration number had been tampered with. It was, in fact, a stolen vehicle involved in a case in Ramanathapuram district. Further analysis of recent jail release records led to the identification of a convicted offender, Dharma Muneeswaran, whose profile matched the CCTV evidence, stolen vehicle linkage, and intelligence inputs. The accused was secured on Thursday, and during inquiry, he confessed to the crime, the SP said.Dharma Muneeswaran was arrested in connection with a rape and murder case by Ettayapuram police in Tuticorin in 2020. In Aug 2024, he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. He challenged the conviction and life sentence before Madras high court and sought bail. In Dec 2025, the HC suspended his sentence and granted him conditional bail. Kulathur police have altered the girl missing case to a case under Section 103 (murder) of BNS and Sections of the Pocso Act. SP Madan said arrangements have been made to install 10 CCTV cameras in every village. Measures have also been taken to intensify patrolling in every village through female police officers (pink beat patrols).