Human head on roadside puts public in tizzy

It belonged to an unidentified road accident victim and was being taken for cremation when it fell off near NSC Bose Road

Panic spread on NSC Bose Road on Saturday morning after a decomposed human head was found by the road.

As rumours of a gruesome murder spread thick and fast, the police revealed that the head belonged to an unidentified road accident victim. It had fallen on the road when the police were taking it to cremate.

The head was first spotted around 11.45 a.m. near the Southern Railway parcel office. Motorists and passersby froze at the sight of a head lying on the road in a decomposed state with stitches on the forehead.

“We got a call from a passerby and my team rushed to the spot. At first sight, we knew it was no murder as there were cuts and stitch marks on the head indicating a formal post-mortem had been carried out. The head was brought to the police station,” said Ramesh Babu, inspector, Elephant Gate police station.

A little later, passersby on NSC Bose Road spotted Agoramoorthy, sub-inspector from Thirumangalam traffic investigation, inquiring about a missing head. He was directed to the Elephant Gate police station.

Agoramoorthy furnished documents pertaining to the head. “The head belonged to an unidentified man who died in a road accident in Villivakkam on August 30. The body was kept at the GH mortuary and a post-mortem was carried out on September 19, after which it was buried. The head was preserved in formaldehyde,” Mr. Babu said.

Since the man’s identity could not be established, the police had decided to cremate the head.

On Saturday morning, Mr. Agoramoorthy was on his way to the Moolakothalam burial ground when his two-wheeler crossed a speed-breaker and unknown to him, the head kept in a plastic bag, slipped out, the police said.

After verifying details of the Villivakkam accident, the head was handed over to Agoramoorthy who then took it for cremation, the police said.