Kovai’s ‘crime den’ razed down

In a swift action, Mayor P.Rajkumar ordered the demolition of the desolate building on a 50 cent land, which had turned into city’s notorious crime den. Two suspected murders and a rape have taken place in the last three years.

The charred body of a man in his 30s was found inside the building on Friday and the police are yet to ascertain the identity of the deceased. A senior corporation official told DC that the building housing a 16X16 room was inaugurated in 1975 by the then Coimbatore Municipality and served as the “Oil brake pump room” of the electricity department, which was then a part of the Municipality.

The building slipped into a state of disuse about 12 years ago after the electricity department was delinked from the municipalities and given autonomy. Due to absence of maintenance, the 50 cents land that the structure stood on was covered with bushes and weeds. Mayor P. Rajkumar told DC that the area will be completely cleaned and be used for the massive tree planting exercise that has been started by the corporation.

Saplings of aromatic trees and fruit bearing trees will be planted on the 50 cent land located along the railway line While the aromatic trees will provide fragrance, the fruit bearing trees will lure bird population that are now becoming a rarity in the city, the mayor said.