Chennai: Youth murdered and thrown into Retteri Lake, friend in custody

Chennai: A 21-year-old history-sheeter was stabbed to death and thrown into Retteri Lake on Wednesday night. Police recovered his body on Thursday and arrested the attacker. The deceased was identified as R. Karthik, a resident of Kolathur, who had several criminal cases pending against him at the Rajamangalam and Kolathur police stations. He worked as a painter. On Thursday morning, passersby spotted his body floating in the water and informed the police control room, following which a team from the Puzhal police station recovered the body and sent it to the Government Stanley Hospital for a post-mortem.
Police recovered a blood-stained liquor bottle near the site of the body discovery and began an investigation. Interviews with Karthik’s acquaintances revealed that he had recently quarreled with his friend Vicky, alias Vignesh (25), after which he broke Vicky’s mobile phone during the argument. Police detained Vicky for questioning, during which he confessed to the murder. The investigation revealed that the two were drinking alcohol at the lake when a fight broke out, and Vicky hit Karthik with a liquor bottle until he fainted. Vicky then dragged Karthik into the lake, drowned him, and fled the scene. Police said Vignesh is also a history-sheeter. He was produced before a magistrate and remanded to judicial custody.