A 45-year-old man was found dead with bleeding injuries in a house at Peerkankaranai near Tambaram on Thursday morning.
The deceased, Ayyadurai, was a gardener and used to serve as watchman on request from house owners in the area when they went out of station. He lived with his wife Vasatha on Tiruvalluvar Street.
According to police, Chandrashekar, headmaster of a government school in Kalpakkam, is a resident of Tholkappiyar Street in the same locality. He lives with his wife Pramila and younger daughter, Preethi, who is a doctor. The couple's elder daughter, Aarthi, also a doctor, lives in Mettur after her marriage.
Chandrashekar had requested Ayyadurai to look after his house for about a week as Preethi was getting married in Madurai.
The family left for Madurai on Monday for the wedding scheduled for Wednesday.
Police said Ayyadurai had dinner at his house on Tuesday and left for Chandrashekar's house. Vasantha got worried as he did not return home even by Thursday morning and went to Chandrashekar's house. She noticed that the cot on which Ayyadurai used to sleep was damaged.
Alarmed, she called out for help. Neighbours rushed to the spot and noticed Ayyadurai lying in a toilet behind the house. Personnel from the Peerkankaranai police station reached the spot. Fingerprint experts lifted some clues. Rani, a canine of the Chennai Suburban Sniffer Dog Squad, picked up a scent and went up to an autorickshaw stand near the Peerkankaranai police station.
Police said Ayyadurai's body was slightly decomposed and foul smell was emanating, indicating that he must have been killed anytime since Tuesday night. The injuries on his body were suspected to have been caused by a blunt weapon.
The body was sent to Tambaram Taluk Government Hospital in Chromepet for post-mortem.
Without ruling out the possibility of more than one person involved in the crime, police said that after assaulting Ayyadurai and dumping his body in the toilet, the suspects broke open the wooden door in the rear portion of the house.
The door was flimsy and easily gave way. There was no iron grille gate.
Once inside, they ransacked the house and broke down the almirahs. Chandrashekar told policemen over telephone that the family had taken all valuables with them for the wedding. However, the exact value of the stolen property, if any, could be established only after the family returns.
Stating that it was a clear case of murder for gain, police added that a couple of special teams were investigating the case.
