In a major breakthrough, Vettavalam police arrested ten individuals on Wednesday in connection with the murder of D. Ayyappan, a history sheeter, near an irrigation tank in Neelanthangal village near Kilpennathur town, Tiruvannamalai. The murder occurred last Sunday (March 9), following a loan dispute.
The arrested suspects include K. Chandru, V. Muthu, B. Kuppusamy, S. Dhanasekar, C. Vivek, A. Pushpanathan, B. Rajesh, T. Natarajan, G. Manikandan, and N. Bhuvanesh, most of whom are from Puducherry.
Initial investigations revealed that the victim, D. Ayyappan (35), was a history sheeter with multiple criminal cases in Puducherry, including murder and robbery. Ayyappan, who had been hiding in Tiruvannamalai due to life threats, was involved in lending money at high interest in both Puducherry and Tiruvannamalai. He had borrowed Rs 3 lakh from suspects Muthu and Chandru years ago but had failed to repay the principal and interest. When the suspects demanded their money back, Ayyappan allegedly threatened them.
Frustrated by not receiving their money, the gang devised a plan to eliminate Ayyappan. They abducted him and murdered him on March 9. Following their hideout discovery in Puducherry, the police arrested the suspects. They were subsequently lodged at Central Prison in Vellore, and an ongoing investigation is underway.
