5 days later, no breakthrough for police into murder at Jaya's estate

Udhagamandalam: Investigations continued into the recent break-in and murder of a security guard at a bungalow in nearby Kodanad Estate, frequented by late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, with police interrogating a guard who escaped the attack for the second day today.

Police are inspecting whether guard Krishna Bahadur, who escaped with minor injuries in the attack by a 10-member gang on April 24, had any links with the assailant or helped them to break open a room out of fear for life, a senior police official said.

The gang had entered the bungalow and murdered security guard Om Bahadur and reportedly stolen some materials from three suitcases.

Krishna Bahadur, being grilled at an undisclosed location since yesterday, had told police that he had seen the gang coming in two cars and hitting Om Bahadur. The gang members had also sprayed some chemicals on him before injuring him, he has claimed.

Meanwhile, IT experts from Coimbatore are being requisitioned to decode CCTV footage in the area as the visuals were not clear, the official said.

Police were also checking with lodges and cottages around Kodanadu to ascertain whether any group of persons had stayed there, he said.