Latest news with #Varunkanth
New Indian Express
25-05-2025
- New Indian Express
Missing disabled youth murdered, buried by care home staff in Tamil Nadu
COIMBATORE: The 24-year-old disabled youth who had been reported missing from a care home in Pollachi was beaten to death by the trustees and staff at the facility on May 12, Coimbatore district rural police revealed on Saturday. Police arrested four people in connection with the murder. Police exhumed the body of the young man, SR Varunkanth, from the farmland owned by the trust at S Nagoor near Nadupuni in Pollachi in the presence of the Pollachi sub-collector in-charge and the tahsildar and handed it over to his parents after postmortem on Saturday evening. Varunkanth hailed from Karavali Mathappur in Sulur Block. According to the FIR registered based on his parents' complaint, he had Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). T Ravikumar and Banumathi had admitted their son at the Yuthira Charitable Trust (Special Children Care and Training Centre) at Rathinasabapathy Puram in Pollachi in February. They had approached the police after the home claimed that Varunkanth had gone missing during the home's outing to Aliyar Dam on May 15. Police on Saturday said that, in fact, the youth had been murdered and buried on May 12. 'The trustees refused to take Varunkanth to a theme park in Mettupalayam, claiming that he was not obeying them. They took the other inmates and left him alone at the home. "This has caused the youth a lot of embarrassment and he apparently behaved aggressively. The trustees and staff at the home got angry and started beating him with cricket bats and plastic pipes. They continued assaulting the youth, till he fell unconscious and died,' a senior police official said. The suspects then allegedly wrapped the body in a plastic cover and transported it by auto to the farmland. There they dug at least five pits before burying the body and planting a sapling over the site, police said. To mask any odours, they sprayed cow dung mixed with water after burying him, police added.
Time of India
25-05-2025
- Time of India
‘Thrashed with sticks, plastic pipes': Rehab home staff beat Tamil Nadu youth with ADHD to death
A 24-year-old with ADHD, Varunkanth, was allegedly beaten to death by caretakers at a rehabilitation center near Pollachi after being admitted in February 2025. Police exhumed his body and arrested four individuals involved in the crime. COIMBATORE: Police on Saturday exhumed the body of the 24-year-old youth with ADHD who went missing from a rehabilitation centre near Pollachi and said he had been beaten to death by the caretakers. Four people have been arrested for the crime. "The youth behaved very aggressively at the home. The trustees and staff of the rehabilitation home beat him with sticks and plastic pipes on multiple occasions from May 9. The youth was beaten to death on May 12," said Dr K Karthikeyan, superintendent of police, Coimbatore district. After the arrest of four people, police learned that on May 13, they buried the body on land the centre owned near Nadupuni. Police said Shaji and Dr Kavitha, who were trustees of the home, were the masterminds. They are still on the run. "Our six special police teams are working to nab the remaining people," said a police officer. Staff visited dam to cook up 'missing' plot The family admitted Varunkanth to Yuthira Charitable Trust (Special Children Care and Training Centre) at Rathinasabapathy Puram in Pollachi for rehabilitation on Feb 4, 2025. The family agreed to pay Rs 40,000 a month and Rs 1 lakh as donation to the home. The initial amount of Rs 50,000 as a donation was paid. The parents were to visit their son once every six months. The youth's father, Ravikumar, received information on May 15 that he went missing when all 27 inmates of the home were taken to the Aliyar dam. Ravikumar filed a police complaint and investigations began. "Initially, the home staff cooperated with the police. Meanwhile, we came to know that the boy was murdered, and the body was buried," said SP Karthikeyan. The police formed six special teams and arrested Giriram, 36, a native of Thiruvannamalai, who worked as a trustee of the rehabilitation home, another trustee's father Senthil Babu, 54, from Pollachi, Nithish, 26, staff of the home, and Ranganayaki, 36, from Thoppampatti near Pollachi. The arrested persons confessed to the murder and were remanded in judicial custody on Saturday night. "The trustees and staff visited the Aliyar dam and park area on May 14 to cook up a story that Varunkanth went missing. They chose areas where CCTVs were not covered in the Aliyar area," police said. The decomposed body of Varunkanth was exhumed on Saturday evening, and a spot postmortem was carried out. Later, the body was handed over to the family.
The Hindu
24-05-2025
- The Hindu
Body of inmate missing from Pollachi centre for special children exhumed, four arrested
The Coimbatore rural police on Saturday exhumed the body of a youth with intellectual disability from a private property in Nadupuni village in Pollachi North Block, and arrested four persons from Yuthira Charitable Trust (Special Children Care and Training Centre) at Rathinasabapathy Puram, located about 20-km away, where the deceased was an inmate earlier. The police established that the trustees and the staff of the centre had beaten up Varunkanth, 24, to death, and buried the body surreptitiously in a bid to cover up the crime. Police conducted a postmortem on the spot and handed over the decomposed body found to the family. Giriram, 36, of Thiruvannamalai, a trustee; Senthil Babu, 54, father of another trustee; Nitish, 26, a staff member, and Ranganayaki, 36, of Thoppampatti near Pollachi were arrested and remanded in judicial custody. The youth's father T. Ravikumar of Karavalli Mathappur in Coimbatore was initially deceived into believing by the Trust authorities that Varunkanth had gone missing while on a sightseeing trip. The youth suffering from attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was admitted to the facility by his family about three months ago. Three days after committing the murder, the trust authorities had, on May 15, informed Ravikumar about the disappearance of Varunkanth and also prompted to lodge a police complaint. The police learnt that the Trust authorities had, on May 9, taken all other inmates barring Varunkanth, to a theme park near Mettupalayam, purportedly due to his aggressive condition. Subsequently, his aggression had accentuated. The trustees and staff of the rehabilitation home had beaten him up severely with wooden logs and plastic pipes for three days till May 12, causing his death, K Karthikeyan, Superintendent of Police, Coimbatore district, said. The trustees and the staff had thereafter readied five pits at the private land they owned at Nadupuni, under the pretext of agricultural activity, and buried the body in the morning hours of May 13, in one of the pits. On May 14, the trustees and staff took the rest of the 26 inmates to Aliyar Dam to enforce credence to their contention that Varunkanth had gone missing during the sightseeing trip. The authorities of the trust who had cooperated with the police at the initial stage, went absconding and switched off their phones as the investigation progressed. Police sources said two other trustees Shaji and Kavitha, a doctor, who were at large, were the masterminds in the crime. The police are on the lookout for them.
Hans India
24-05-2025
- Hans India
Coimbatore Police constitute six teams to probe 'murder' of inmate at Pollachi centre
Chennai: Coimbatore District (Rural) Police have launched an intensive investigation into the suspected murder of a 23-year-old man with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), who had been staying at a care home for persons with intellectual disabilities in Pollachi. Six special police teams have been formed, and two individuals associated with the facility have been detained, while four others are currently absconding. The deceased youth was identified as S. R. Varunkanth, son of T. Ravikumar and Banumathi, residents of Amman Nagar, Karavali Mathappur. Varunkanth was admitted to the Yuthira Charitable Trust (Special Children Care and Training Centre) at Rathinasabapathy Puram on February 4 for rehabilitation. The family had agreed to pay Rs 40,000 per month and contributed Rs 50,000 of a promised Rs 1 lakh as a donation. They were permitted to visit Varunkanth only once every six months, police said. The facility initially claimed that Varunkanth had gone missing during an outing to Aliyar Dam on May 12. Acting on this information, his father lodged a missing persons complaint with the Aliyar Police on May 15. While the trust initially cooperated with authorities, inconsistencies began to emerge. CCTV footage from Aliyar Dam revealed no evidence that the youth had ever been there. Subsequently, the family received alarming information indicating that Varunkanth had been physically assaulted by staff members on May 12. A disturbing video emerged, showing him seated on the floor with severe injuries. Concerned over the discrepancies, the family approached Superintendent of Police K. Karthikeyan on Thursday. The case was then transferred to the Mahalingapuram Police Station, which has jurisdiction over the care home. Shortly thereafter, all six suspects - including staff and trustees - absconded. However, two were later detained. During interrogation, the detained suspects confessed that Varunkanth had died due to the abuse and was buried at a farmland owned by the trust at S. Nagoor near Naduppuni. Efforts to exhume the body on Friday were unsuccessful, as the exact burial location could not be identified. Officials from the District Differently-Abled Welfare Department confirmed that 26 inmates were staying at the home. Following the incident, most were relocated to their native places. Alarmingly, seven residents had been forcibly moved to a relative's house belonging to one of the suspects in Pollachi. Six of them were rescued on Thursday, and one more on Friday. Police and welfare officials are working to reunite them with their families. According to official sources, the care home was recognised by the Commissionerate for the Welfare of the Differently-Abled on May 12 based on its track record over the past three years, although it received no government funding. The institution has now been shut down for violations related to fee collection, and in light of the ongoing criminal investigation.
Time of India
24-05-2025
- Time of India
Police to exhume body of youth 'beaten' to death at rehabilitation home in Tamil Nadu
CHENNAI: Police in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore district are preparing to exhume the body of a 24-year-old man who was allegedly beaten to death by staff at a home for people with intellectual disabilities. The deceased, SR Varunkanth, had been admitted to the Yuthira Charitable Trust Special Children Care and Training Centre near Pollachi on 4 February. He reportedly suffered from attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Police say Varunkanth died on 12 May after being severely beaten by staff. His body was allegedly buried the following day in a remote plot of land around 20km away, with the help of trustees of the facility. The incident came to light after the victim's father, T Ravikumar, filed a missing persons report when he was told his son had disappeared during a group outing to Aliyar Dam. He later received video evidence indicating his son had been assaulted, prompting him to file a formal complaint with district police. According to investigators, two staff members and one trustee have been arrested. During questioning, they reportedly confessed to the assault and subsequent burial. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Secure Your Child's Future with Strong English Fluency Planet Spark Learn More Undo Forensic experts, police, and officials from the Revenue Department visited the burial site in S Nagore near Nadupuni on Saturday to begin the process of exhumation. Police say multiple pits had been dug under the pretext of agricultural activity. The exhumation is expected to assist in the ongoing investigation. Six special teams have been formed to trace the remaining suspects, who are believed to be in hiding.
