The Tamil Nadu police have apprehended a 47-year-old self-styled Siddha (traditional medicine) practitioner named T Kesavamoorthi in connection to the murder of two young men.
As per a report by Hindustan Times, the accused is a resident of Cholapuram in the Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu. Although he studied till 10th Std, he claims to have learnt the practice of Siddha from a man in Chennai. Kesavamoorthi is popular in Cholapuram for his treatment of ‘impotency.’
Many young men used to visit him for treatment and eventually became his targets. One such case happened to be that of 27-year-old Ashok Rajan, who was a native of Cholapuram but worked as a driver in Chennai.
Police investigation leads them to homosexual ‘quack’
He went missing on 13th November 2023. Rajan’s grandmother M Padmini filed a missing complaint with the Cholapuram police on 15th November. She informed the cops that although Rajan left home for Chennai, he did not resume his job and that his phone was switched off.
During the investigation, the police found that the victim went to the house of T Kesavamoorthi after leaving his home. They interrogated the self-styled Siddhi practitioner who confessed to murdering Rajan.
“On sustained questioning and (after) pointing (to) inconsistencies in his statement, he confessed to murdering Rajan…“He also confessed to being a homosexual and in a sexual relationship with Rajan,” the Thanjavur district police said in a statement on 27th November 2023.
Accused killed Rajan as he was getting married
The accused admitted that he killed Rajan because he was getting married. According to the victim’s grandmother, Rajan’s engagement was fixed for February 2024 by the family.
During the investigation, the police found the body of the victim in the backyard of Kesavamoorthi’s house. “We started digging and found chopped parts of the body buried in his backyard, and in a garden where he grew herbs. All internal organs were missing. Initially, we thought it was to be a case of organ trade,” a cop told The Hindustan Times.
Kesavamoorthi also confessed to cannibalism and cooking the organs of the 27-year-old Ashok Rajan. Another police officer told the newspaper, “Initially, he did not speak and kept quiet. On sustained interrogation and after showing him all circumstantial evidence, he confessed that he cooked the organs and ate them.”
Kesvamoorthi resorted to cannibalism
The accused reportedly bought masala from the market in advance as part of his plan to kill Rajan and cook his body parts. He gave the victim a sedative tablet and then had sexual intercourse with him.
Kesavamoorthi then used machetes and a grinding machine to cut the ribs of Rajan and take out the organs. He also watched surgery videos on YouTube and learnt to make incisions. He ate the body parts and fed the rest to his dog.
The cops also found a jawbone in the backyard of Kesavamoorthi. A forensic examination revealed that it belonged to another man.
The discovery of another victim
The police began tracking missing complaints and confirmed the identity of the victim as Mohammed Anas. A resident of Cholapuram, he had been missing since 2021. His family informed that Anas frequently visited Kesavamoorthi’s house.
“When we questioned Anas’s family, they confirmed that he used to visit Kesavamoorthi’s house regularly. The accused’s phone records showed that he used speak with Anas regularly. We had strong evidence to link Kesavamoorthi with the disappearance of Anas. Confronted with evidence, he confessed,” the police said.
Ashish Rawat, DSP (Thanjavur district), told Hindustan Times, “He was in sexual relationship with both the victims. In both the cases, he killed the victims after they informed him they were getting married.” Kesavamoorthi however did not eat the organs of Mohammed Anas after killing him.
Police hunt continues
The Cholapuram police are actively investigating whether Kesavamoorthi killed more victims, who used to seek treatment from him. “A list of people who were treated by Kesavamoorthi is being prepared,” the police said in a statement.
While reacting to the development, Cholapuram village Head A Namibrajan told Hindustan Times, “When I warned some of them to not spend too much time in Kesavamoorthi’s house, the families would come out in their support. So, I stopped interfering…His estranged elder brother lives a street away from him.”