A 14-year-old boy was found murdered inside Nanmangalam Reserve Forest, a sprawling scrub jungle in the southern suburbs of Chennai on Monday afternoon. His throat was slit and the body was found in a pool of blood by a Nanmangalam resident who ventured into the forest around 4 p.m. Pallikaranai police, who are investigating, said the resident had ventured inside the forest that was used an open toilet. He panicked and informed other residents, who in turn called the police control.
A team of policemen visited the spot and noticed the body of V. Kabali, turned to his left. S. Kuppuswamy, a resident who accompanied the police team to the spot, later told reporters that there was a huge loss of blood and that they could not see the face clearly. Kabali was wearing a red vest and blue trousers. His body was removed to Tambaram Taluk Government Hospital in Chromepet for post-mortem. Julie, a sniffer dog, picked up a scent and ran through the forest before emerging out of it from the western side.
A. Saravanan, Deputy Commissioner, St. Thomas Mount Police District, said they suspected the murder to have taken place a little past noon. The victim's relatives told reporters that Kabali had a big gang of friends with whom he would go out everyday. On Monday, however, they did not come home and he left home alone. Kabali was a resident of Kalaignar Nagar, Medavakkam, not very far from the reserve forest.
The third among five children, he lived with his father Velu, grandmother Pattu and his four siblings. Pattu is bedridden and Velu, a construction worker, had become home-bound after he suffered a physical disability five years ago. Kabali's mother Vijaya had left the father and lived elsewhere.
The family lives in small thatched hut, paying a monthly rent of Rs. 800. With no steady income to the family, they were supported by Mani, Velu's elder brother, working as a watchman. Kabali ran errands during final rites held at the burial and cremation grounds in the area, bringing home paltry sums.
This is the second instance of a gruesome murder inside the Nanmangalam Reserve Forest. A woman was found killed inside the forest in July 2007. In February 2009, a 35-year-old woman was murdered inside Madurapakkam forest, a few kilometers away from Nanmangalam. Nanmangalam is an important patch of forest that is spread over 375 hectares and is home to a rich bio-diversity of flora and fauna. Due to lack of protective measures, the forest is nothing more than an open toilet. Garbage finds its way freely into the forest reserve. Nature lovers who visit the forest often to sight many different species of birds are appalled by the amount of destruction caused to the natural habitat due to unrestricted human interference.
