Birthday eve turned horror for a Chennai techie who was chained, cut and burnt alive by her childhood schoolmate who reportedly had undergone a sex-change operation to marry her.
The grisly incident took place on Saturday in Thalambur on Chennai's southern outskirts.
Nandhini, said to be in her mid-twenties, was expecting a memorable birthday eve when Vetrimaran alias Pandi Murugeshwari asked her to spend a few hours with him on Saturday.
Little did Nandhini know that Vetrimaran was going to unleash torture on her using chains and petrol.
Nandhini and Vetrimaran's Friendship
The accused, Vetrimaran, an MBA graduate, had changed his name from Pandi Murugeshwari after his sex-change operation.
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Nadhini and Vetrimaran studied in the same girls school in Madurai and used to be close friends, a Times of India report quoted police as saying.
While they had fallen out after Nandhini refused to get into a relationship with Vetrimaran after his sex change despite his appeals, they still stayed in touch, police said.
Eight months ago, Nandhini got a job in Chennai after completing BSc in information technology and was staying there with her uncle.
The Grisly Murder
On Saturday, Nandhini met Vetrimaran after he asked her to spend a few hours with him. They met and Vetrimaran reportedly bought her new clothes, took her to an orphanage near Tambaram, made a donation there and later offered to drop her home.
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On the way back, Vetrimaran stopped at a deserted spot in Chennai's Ponmar where he asked Nandhini to pose for photos. He then used chains, which he was carrying in his bike, to bind her hands and feet, telling her it was "just for fun."
According to police, Nandhini kept pleading before Vetrimaran to release her but he, instead, slashed her neck and arms with a blade before pouring petrol over her and setting her afire.
While he fled the spot, some people of the area found Nandhini struggling for her life and called police. A number that Nandhini gave to them before passing out to call turned out to be Vetrimaran's, the report said.
Vetrimaran even came to the scene when police called the number, identified Nandhini as a friend and accompanied cops and residents of the area to take Nandhini to the government hospital at Chromepet where she later succumbed to her injuries.
She died late on Saturday, by which time Vetrimaran had gone missing. He was then nabbed on Sunday and an officer said that he showed no remorse for his actions.
Vetrimaran told the police that he was upset with Nandhini refusing to have a relationship with him. He had undergone sex change at a private hospital a few years back, but Nandhini told him they had no future together, police said.
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He also told the police that Recently Nandhini had become close to a colleague at work and that's when he decided to kill her.
Vetrimaran is currently in judicial custody and further investigations are underway.
