A ganja peddler’s confession about his rival group’s escapades helped the Chennai police crack a 10-month-old ‘Missing person’ case, who was ultimately murdered. Police also arrested three persons in connection with that case and are on the lookout for three more men.
According to reports, Lokesh, who was a regular ganja smoker, was a member of the six-men gang. However, he got close to a rival ganja peddler, which was viewed with animosity by the original gang. On April 5, 2019, Lokesh left his house in Anakaputhur in the morning and did not come back. His parents could not contact him either since his phone was switched off. Fearing something was amiss, his parents approached the Shankar Nagar police station with a ‘Missing person’ complaint. Though the police searched far and wide, they could not find Lokesh anywhere.
On Sunday, the police arrested Sivakumar for peddling ganja in Kancheepuram and Chennai districts. During interrogation, Sivakumar allegedly revealed to the police that his brother Batcha was involved in Lokesh’s murder. He turned his brother Batcha in, reportedly because he was not on good terms with him. Sivakumar also told the police that he had overheard Batcha telling his accomplices about how he had killed Lokesh due to business enmity, since Lokesh was luring away their customers and selling them ganja.
Batcha had made Lokesh come to a deserted area in Anakaputhur, where he and his gang allegedly murdered him in April. They then dumped his body in a well.
Based on his statement, the police arrested Batcha, who is already in prison for another offence. Police also arrested Nithish and Praveen in connection with Lokesh’s murder. The three others of the gang are at large and police have launched a search for them.