3 arrested for murdering, burying youth

Trichy: Police have arrested three men in Aranthangi in Pudukottai district for murdering their friend and burying his body. The deceased, K Vignesh, 26, hailed from Thirunalur village. On April 28, he had gone to his wife Manimegalai's parental home in Avanathankottai. According to police, a group of his friends visited him there and took him out. He did not return thereafter.Based on a complaint by Vignesh's wife, Aranthangi police registered a case and launched an investigation. Sources said Vignesh had earlier been involved in a dispute with the wife of Udhayanidhi, 30, leading to frequent altercations between the two. On the night of April 28, Udhayanidhi, along with Arunkumar, 33, Manikandan, 30, Ramarajan, 33, and Vinoth, 27, all from the same village, consumed alcohol together before going to Vignesh's house and taking him to Thirunalur on two-wheelers. Police said the group assaulted Vignesh, resulting in his death. They then buried the body along the banks of a canal. The body was exhumed on Saturday in the presence of revenue department officials, and a postmortem was conducted. On Saturday, Udhayanidhi, Arunkumar, and Manikandan were arrested. Manikandan, who works in Singapore, had recently returned to his home town to cast his vote. Police apprehended him at Trichy airport while attempting to flee the country. Efforts are on to trace the remaining accused, Ramarajan and Vinoth. Further investigation is underway.