Chennai Bleeds: Audacious daylight murders leave citizens shocked, helpless

The victim’s body, with a ghastly wound on the side of the neck and lying in a pool of blood, remained on the platform for nearly two hours after the murder. S Swathi, the second daughter of Sreenivasan, was dropped at the station by her father at 6.30 am. She used to take the Chennai Beach-Chengalpatu train at 6.40 am from Nungambakkam every day. 

According to the police, Swathi had a verbal quarrel with a man, aged around 35, at the railway station. Both had a heated argument for some time. The man suddenly pulled out a machete from the black travel bag he was carrying and hacked her on the neck. The assailant used so much force that the weapon cut through her facial bone killing her on the spot. Before people around realised what had happened, the man escaped from the station. 

Government Railway police came to the spot and sent the body to the Government Hospital for post-mortem examination. Swathi’s father was also informed. Sreenivasan, a retired ESI employee, was seen wailing near the body of his daughter saying he was always worried about her safety and that’s why he dropped her at the station every morning. 

Police sources also said that a call taxi driver had an intense quarrel with Swathi about a week back and he was at the centre of their probe. Police also suspect that the man could have stalked the victim and taken revenge when Swathi spurned his love. “We have some very clear clues regarding the suspect and the investigation is progressing on the right track and will be securing the suspect soon,” Railway Superintendent of Police, Dr. P Vijayakumar told DTNext. 

Railway police sources also disclosed that they had a clear description regarding the suspect from eyewitness accounts. S o u r c e s later said that Railway police have already picked up a suspect for questioning.

The otherwise peaceful apartment complex at South Gangai Street in Choolaimedu had people streaming in soon after the news of Swathi’s murder spread. While investigating officials were talking to the parents, friends and family came to support other family members, who were in complete shock. There were also curious on-lookers who waited around the street after seeing the crowd outside. 

According to the relatives, the police came at around 8 am to her house and informed the family about the incident. The parents couldn’t believe that their daughter was murdered. “She never mentioned to us anything about being harassed or stalked. We had no idea someone wanted to murder her,” said a relative. The family was living in that apartment complex for over 10 years. Neighbours said Swathi was a friendly girl and would always smile at people she knew.

“She was a well-spoken and a polite young girl. We used to see her often till she was in college but became busy after she joined Infosys. She’d leave early in the morning and would be back only later in the evening,” said a neighbour. The parents only came outside in the afternoon to go to the mortuary to claim the body.

On the spot: ‘We were all in shock' 

She was one of the first few people to have arrived at the station. She usually buys something from my stall but today she didn’t. She was a pretty girl and wore good jewellery. She’d usually come alone and sit in a chair. I have always seen her alone. Today, somehow, I didn’t notice her pass by. It was all normal till I heard a woman scream. By the time I came out, I saw her lying in a pool of blood and a man running in the opposite direction. There were hardly 10 people at the station and we were all in shock. There were severe injuries on her face and one of the passengers called the police who only arrived after an hour. The body lay there untouched till then and someone covered it with a cloth. 

“By December this year, 82 stations will come under CCTV surveillance. Nirbhaya funds have been allocated to us to carry out the works for the current year and stations will be brought under CCTV surveillance by December”.

"It is shocking that someone can murder so brazenly in a railway station. We cannot believe that there is no CCTV camera installed at such an important public location like the railway station".