Man who set fire to vehicles held

The police have arrested the man who set fire to two cars and two bikes inside an apartment complex in T. Nagar on October 7.

The man is said to have gone to the house to murder a worker in the apartment with whom he had an affair. As the attempt failed, he set fire to her vehicle and the flames spread to another two-wheeler and two cars parked in the same complex.

According to police, Kamalakannan is the owner and driver of two share autorickshaws. In 2007, he was employed at an export company in Koyambedu. There, he fell in love with a married woman.

After a few years, she took up a job at a beauty parlour in T. Nagar. “Recently, she started working as a home nurse for a senior citizen in Ravi Towers, an apartment complex on Hindi Prachar Sabha Road in T. Nagar. Around this time, she stopped communicating with him,” said inspector Kannan of Mambalam police.

He grew angry over this and began following her. “But as she kept avoiding him, an infuriated Kamalakannan decided to kill her. He went to the apartment around 11.30 p.m. on October 6. His plan was to get her electrocuted so that he would not be suspected,” said the inspector.

He was trying to fiddle with the door bell when it accidentally rang. The owner of the house spotted him and he ran away. “On the way out, he attacked the watchman. Around 2 a.m. on October 7, he went to the apartment again and set fire to her two-wheeler. The flames spread to the other vehicles,” said the inspector.

During interrogation, the woman is said to have provided information about Kamalakannan. He was caught three days after the incident.