Class X student murdered near Sivaganga

Sivaganga: A 14-year-old Class X student was murdered by his friends following a drunken brawl in Sivaganga district on Thursday. Police found his body with the throat slit near Keel Kaavanoor irrigation tank on Friday after one of the accused reported the matter.

The deceased, Ashwin, a student of government higher secondary school in Thirukkalapatti, had gone to consume liquor with three of his friends after school hours on Thursday.

According to police, an argument broke out between them while they were drinking, which quickly escalated into a violent attack. The suspects used a small knife to slit Ashwin’s throat, leaving him dead. The crime came to light after one of the accused, aged 17, approached police on Friday out of fear to report the incident.

Police recovered the body near Keel Kaavanoor irrigation tank and sent it to Sivaganga Medical College Hospital for postmortem. Forensic team collected evidence from the site and superintendent of police R Shiva Prasad visited the scene to oversee investigation.

On a complaint from the victim’s father Nagaraj, Keelasevalpatti police registered a case under section 103(1) of BNS. Police said the deceased boy did not attend school on Thursday. Police identified three suspects, Aravind, 24, Ganesan, 22, of Karaiyur, and a 17-year-old boy, who are yet to be secured. The minor is a second-year polytechnic student and has no previous cases.

A senior police official told TOI that the motive behind the murder is yet to be established as the main accused are absconding.