‘MENTALLY UNSTABLE’ MAN WHO MURDERED TN GUARD HELD

CHENNAI: The police on Saturday arrested a man believed to be mentally disturbed and suspected of killing a church security officer at Marthandam in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu. The police identified him as M. Ravi, aged between 40 and 45 years, of Maathur village.

The arrest took place after a video of Ravi dancing nude at the church on Wednesday night and then killing the security officer with a boulder had gone viral. Residents of district had been rattled by reports of a psycho killer on the loose.

In the video, Ravi is seen walking towards the imposing CSI (Church of South India) building and dancing in front of the main door. Security officer Sundar Rajan, a retired sub-inspector, asks him what he is doing at the church at the odd hour and tells him to get out. A scuffle ensues and Ravi grabs a boulder and bludgeons the retired policeman, leaving him bleeding profusely. He later dumps the boulder in the bushes.

Sundar Rajan was first.admitted to a government hospital and then referred to a private hospital in Kerala, where he died, Marthandam police said.

“On scrutinizing the CCTV footage, we found a middle-aged man posing nude at the church at around 1.30 am on Wednesday. Even after Sundar Rajan collapsed, the assailant danced in front of the fainted security officer,” a police officer investigating the crime said on condition of anonymity.

Residents of Marthandam and its suburbs have complained in recent days about a naked man roaming around late in the night. A few people have even complained to the police about the man assaulting them.

Ravi was caught by locals on Friday night in Thiruvattar while attempting to gain entry into a CSI church. When he started assaulting those who prevented him, he was overpowered and caught by the locals, who handed him over to the police.

“He is mentally disturbed and knows only to laugh and dance. He is not speaking much. We are about to produce him in a court. We are taking steps to get him admitted at the Institute of Mental Health at Kilpauk in Chennai,” the police officer said.