Highly decomposed bodies of five persons, including that of a woman, were exhumed at Krishnasamudram near Tiruverumbur on Saturday based on the confession of T. Sappani (35) who was recently arrested.
The victims were all suspected to have been murdered by Sappani between 2012 and 2016.
The murders came to light when the police interrogated him in connection with the murder of his friend Thangadurai (35) a few days ago when the body was found on an irrigation canal at Krishnasamudram on September 13.
During interrogation, Sappani is said to have confessed that he had murdered Thangadurai and seven others and buried them in different places at Krishnasamudram. On Saturday, police dug up places identified by Sappani, who is in police custody. The exhuming the bodies was taken up in the presence of doctors of K.A.P. Viswanatham Government Medical College, forensic experts, police and revenue officials. Doctors examined the body parts found on the spot. The body of Thekkan of Krishnasamudram, father of Sappani, was among the first to be exhumed on Saturday. The bodies of Sathiyanathan of Koothaipar, Kumaresan of Uppilliyapuram, Vijay Victor of Kumaresapuram and Kokila were also exhumed.
“The bodies were found exactly at the locations identified by the accused,” C. Kalaichelvan, Assistant Superintendent of Police, told The Hindu . The police had so far retrieved six bodies, including that of Thangadurai. As per Sappani’s confession, two more bodies would have to be exhumed. The operation would continue based on further interrogation with the accused, he said.
Mr. Kalaichelvan said the bodies were in highly decomposed state. The skeleton and others parts were collected in different boxes. They would be sent for DNA analysis at a laboratory in Chennai to ascertain the identity of victims.
While Gokila was murdered about four years ago, others were believed to have been murdered in 2015 and 2016. Most of them were murdered for gain .
Villagers said that Sappani, who worked as a farm hand, usually appeared to be a calm person. His mother Karuppayi (70) expressed disbelief that her son had committed so many murders.
