Chennai Metro rail official's son not kidnapped, but murdered

Chennai: Four days after a senior official with Chennai metro rail limited approached the city police claiming that his son was kidnapped for a ransom of Rs 50 lakh, police have discovered that the 23-year-old man was murdered in a drunken brawl.  

Two of his friends were arrested for allegedly murdering him, police sources said. The arrested were identified as N. Venkatesh (32) and M. Ramesh (23) - residents of Jothi Nagar in Thiruvottiyur, the same neighbourhood as Avinash Bhushan.

 Police rounded up the suspects based on the mobile phone tower location of the deceased. “The suspects had made calls from Avinash’s phone to his father demanding the ransom,” a police officer said.

Avinash, a diploma holder, went for a drinking session with his friends- Venkatesh, Ramesh, Avinash and Surya at a godown in Sathangadu on September 7 when the quartet entered into a verbal duel with Avinash and murdered him in a fit of rage, police said.

 Later, the men buried his body and decided that they would demand ransom amount from his father. On September 10, the deceased’s father, Ajay Kumar approached the Sathangadu police station claiming that his son was kidnapped for a ransom of Rs 50 lakh. 

He told police that he waited two days before approaching the police and also shared with the cops that he received a phone call from his son’s mobile, wherein the caller informed that his son has been kidnapped and kept in Bengaluru.

 Police initially suspected it to be a drama orchestrated by the man’s son, however on tracking down the mobile phone of Avinash, they found it was with one of the quartet. Intense quizzing elicited confession of the crime. Police is wating for official saction for exhuming the body. Hunt is on for the other two suspects.