Prime accused in Sivaganga school student murder case escapes from police custody

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Aravind, the prime accused in the case of sexual assault and murder of a Class X student near Tiruppathur in Sivaganga district, escaped from police custody on Tuesday while being returned to prison after a court appearance.

Aravind, 24, from Ilanthaimangalam in the district, who had already been detained under the Goondas Act and lodged in Madurai Central Prison, had been taken to the Sivaganga court for a hearing. According to the police, he was transported on a two-wheeler instead of a standard prison van.

He escaped by shoving the escort police personnel when the vehicle was stopped at the traffic signal near Yanaikkal junction in Madurai. He fled into the crowds.

Subsequently, Vilakkuthoon police have registered a case, and a search is on to trace the accused.

Aravind had earlier been arrested by Sivaganga District police, along with a 17-year-old accomplice, for the sexual assault and murder of a Class X boy, whose body was discovered with a slit throat near Keel Kaavanoor irrigation tank on June 5.

Investigators revealed that Aravind had been in a relationship with the victim, and the two suspects plotted the murder after the boy allegedly disclosed their relationship to others.

According to the police, the perpetrators consumed liquor with the victim just prior to the attack. The breakthrough in the case came when an eyewitness stepped forward to report the crime.

Acting on a complaint from the victim’s father, Keelasevalpatti police registered a case under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, besides relevant provisions of the POCSO Act. Following his arrest, Aravind was remanded in Madurai Central Prison, while the minor accomplice was sent to a government observation home.

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