Tiruchirappalli police have questioned three men in connection with the murder of a 21-year-old student in the district on Monday. The suspects who are all in their early twenties were rounded up based on the statement of the victim's girlfriend who was present with him at the scene of crime. They have given their statements to the police but are yet to be formally arrested.
In a case of alleged moral policing, the victim Tamilvanan, a student at K Ramakrishnan College of Engineering in Tiruchirappalli was murdered by four men after he was found in a secluded spot with his girlfriend near Siruganur. The men allegedly demanded to know why the couple was standing there in the evening at around 7 pm. What followed was a verbal spat which escalated into violence and Tamilvanan was stabbed in the fight. While initial reports suggested that the 20-year-old woman with him had been sexually harassed, the police maintain that the gang, who belonged to the local area, had only warned her before leaving the spot. Three teams consisting of inspectors and constables had been formed to find the culprits.
"We have taken down the statement of the three suspects and we have to see if they were really in the locations they claim to be and enquire with other people. The girl will also be asked if she can recognise the men we have rounded up," says Tiruchirappalli Superintendent of Police (Rural) Ziaul Haque.
The post mortem on Tamilvanan's body was meanwhile completed. He had been stabbed on the thigh by the attackers. The young woman had called for the 108 ambulance. Since the spot where the crime occurred was far removed from the closest hospital, Tamilvanan was left to bleed for far too long, and succumbed to the wound inflicted on him.
"I have met the victim's cousin today at the police station and assured him that those involved will be arrested," says the SP. "We will definitely do the needful in this situation."