A day after human remains were found in a forest area near the Tamil Nadu–Karnataka border in Bargur Hills, the police identified the victim as a 25-year-old man from Krishnagiri district.
On Monday, while patrolling the Thattakarai Forest Range of the Erode Division, forest staff discovered a partially burnt skull and charred bones at the junction of Kargekandi East Beat and Bodamalai South Beat. They immediately informed Ranger Ramalingam, who then alerted the Village Administrative Officer (VAO) of Bargur A Village, A. Babu, and the Bargur police. After analysis, authorities confirmed that the remains were human.
Bargur police reviewed missing person reports and found that a case had been registered at Berigai police station in Krishnagiri district the previous week. Berigai police were informed, and three individuals—Venkatesh, Kumar, and Rajendran—were taken to the crime scene. Upon finding belt buckles at the site, they identified the victim as Sakthivel.
On Tuesday, two doctors from the Government Erode Medical College and Hospital in Perundurai arrived at the scene, collected the remains, and took them for further analysis.
Based on a complaint from the VAO, the police registered a case of suspicious death. Venkatesh and Rajendran told the police that they had entered the forest with Sakthivel 10 days earlier to cut trees. However, after hearing a gunshot, they fled the area and were unaware of what had happened to him. The police remain sceptical of their account and continue to question them, while Kumar fled from the scene and remains at large.
Published - April 01, 2025 08:34 pm IST
