The Chennai police have arrested two men in connection with the murder of a woman whose body was found dumped behind the swimming pool on Marina beach on Sunday. Police have identified the deceased as a sex worker while the two accused are auto drivers.
According to reports, the woman was last seen at Marina beach around 11 pm on Saturday. Morning walkers then spotted her body on Sunday near a garbage bin and alerted the police. She was found in a state of partial undress.
The murder caused alarm amongst the public and subsequently the police formed three special teams to investigate the crime. They then zeroed in on a few suspects who were being interrogated, and on Wednesday, they declared that two arrests were conducted.
"One of them is Prem from Mattangkuppam and the other is Surya from Washermenpet. They are both known to the deceased," says an officer involved in the case. "They have admitted to murdering her when we questioned them," he adds.
When the body was discovered, police found that there were marks of strangulation around her neck.
"She has died of suffocation. That is confirmed," says the official but maintains that the motive is yet to be established. The police are yet to receive the post mortem report.
Preliminary inquiries suggested that the woman was seen walking with four autorickshaw drivers to an unlit area near the swimming pool. The lack of CCTV cameras and surveillance footage, however initially delayed the shortlisting of suspects in the case.
Meanwhile, the lack of sufficient lighting on the beach has raised safety concerns. Some walkers, who visit the beach regularly for their exercises, have complained that the lights installed on the beach road rarely work and that the police patrolling is insufficient in the area.