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CHENNAI: An official said that a 24-year-old R Nandhini,software engineer in Tamil Nadu was chained, slashed with a blade and burnt alive on the eve of her birthday by her former classmate, who had undergone a sex change operation to marry her. Police have arrested Vetrimaran, an MBA graduate, who before sex change was Pandi Murugeshwari, for killing R Nandhini.
The disturbing incident unfolded in Thalambur near Kelambakkam, a quiet southern suburb of Chennai. The two had studied in the same girls school in Madurai and used to be close friends, police said. According to police reports, 26-year-old Vetrimaaran alias Pandi Maheswari, under the guise of a birthday surprise, blindfolded 24-year-old R Nandhini and subjected her to an unimaginable ordeal involving chains and petrol.
The unsuspecting victim, a native of Madurai and a software engineer, had been residing with relatives in Chennai. They had fallen out after Nandhini refused to get into a relationship with Vetrimaran after his sex change despite his fervent appeals, but they stayed in touch, police said.
After getting a BSc degree in information technology, Nandhini got a job in Chennai eight months ago. She was staying with her uncle. On Saturday, Vetrimaran called and asked Nandhini to spend a few hours with him. Vetrimaran, having changed his name from Pandi Maheswari, lured Nandhini into his deadly trap on the pretext of a birthday celebration.
Investigations revealed a dark turn in the relationship between the two. Having studied together in Madurai, Nandhini continued the friendship even after Vetrimaran underwent a sex-change operation.
Both of them had worked together in a private IT firm in Thoraipakkam, further intertwining their lives, police said. According to the police, the motive behind this gruesome act seems to stem from Vetrimaran’s suspicion that Nandhini had developed an interest in others.
Vetrimaran reportedly invited Nandhini for what was supposed to be a birthday surprise, but the evening turned into a nightmare for the 24-year-old. According to the police, local residents discovered Nandhini, still chained and burning, and immediately rushed her to the hospital, where she diedThe police swiftly apprehended Vetrimaran, who now faces charges of murder and is remanded to judicial custody.
