Six held for Dr Reddy’s murder

A month after secretary of BJP’s State Medical Wing, Dr Aravinth Reddy, was hacked to death by a gang, Vellore police arrested six persons in connection with the case on Thursday. Police have launched a manhunt for two others.

Police arrested Udhaya (alias) Udhaya Kumar (28) of Vellore Old Town, Thangaraj (26)  of Sathuvachari, Chinna (alias) Chandran (25) of Kosapettai, Raja (alias) MLA Raja (alias) Raj Kumar ( 32) of Ariyur, Perumal (alias) Pitchai Perumal (28) of Saidapet and Dharani (alias) Dharani Kumar (24) of Sholinghur.

The 38-year-old diabetologist and ENT surgeon was hacked to death as he stepped out of his clinic on Lakshmana Perumal Koil Street, in Kosapet, on October 23. He was done to death by a three-member gang that came on a motorbike. He had died on the spot.

Reddy was the founder-chairman of Medzon Hospitals, Laboratories and Pharmacies, in Vellore and Chennai. He was also the president of the Vellore unit of Indian Medical Association (IMA). His murder had resulted in BJP’s state-wide protest demanding immediate arrest of the murderers.

Four special teams under Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSP) S Dhakshinamoorthy (Vellore), S Seetharaman (Arakkonam), Manivannan (Katpadi) and Lavanya (Ranipet) were constituted to investigate the case. The teams probed the case under various angles -- property dispute, illegal affair, business and political motives -- under the supervision of Superintendent of Police I Eswaran. Assistant director of the Forensic Wing, K Pari, assisted the teams in the investigation.

“We held inquires with more than 150 people, including relatives and friends of Reddy, but in vain,” the SP said and added that they had not been able to establish the motive behind the murder due to poor cooperation from Reddy’s family members and  friends.

However, the investigation teams spread a dragnet for the murderers. “We started monitoring the movements of notorious rowdies in Vellore and neighbouring districts, hoping to get a lead,” Eswaran added.

Meanwhile, a police team attached to Vellore South station picked up three people on a motorbike -- Udhaya, Thangaraj and Chandran -- for violating traffic rules. Police searched them and found a sickle and three knives with them.

The trio, on interrogation, spilled the beans and confessed to the murder of Reddy. In their confession, the trio had stated that they had murdered Reddy as per the plan given  by Vasur Raja, a gangster who was undergoing imprisonment under Goondas Act in Vellore Prison.

Based on the information given by Udhaya, police nabbed Raj Kumar and two others from their hideout in Ariyur on Thursday.

Eswaran said the gang members had split into two groups and eliminated Reddy. While Udhaya and two others waited near the deceased’s clinic, the other group waited near Dinakaran theatre, half-a-kilo metre from the clinic, to murder the doctor, if he managed to escape from the first gang. “The two groups were facilitated by two other persons, who were at large. The duo handed over a sprayer container filled with explosive materials, that could be used if they were chased,” the SP added.

The police teams are on the lookout for the two other gang members, he said, adding, “We will come to know the motive behind the murder and the person if there is anybody, after taking Vasur Raja under police custody for the inquiry.”