How a missing complaint turned intoa sordid tale of murder and cannibalism

What started with a complaint missing person ended up as gory tale of lust, murder, and cannibalism with a twist that suggested that there could be more surprises in store.

- Divya Chandrababu

On November 15, M Padmini, filed a complaint with the Cholapuram (Thanjavur district). police that her 27-year-old grandson, Ashok Rajan, had been missing for two days after he left for Chennai to resume his duty as a driver. He never joined duty, she added in her complaint, and his phone was switched off.

The police started investigating the case as a routine missing person matter. Tracking his phone records, police found that on November 13, after he left his grandmother's house, he visited T Kesavamoorthi, a Siddha (traditional medicine) practitioner, also in Cholapuram. When asked about this, Kesavamoorthi, 47, said Rajan had indeed visited him, but then left for Chennai.

Kesavamoorthi, who hails from Cholapuram, had studied only up to Class 10, police say, but claimed to have learnt Siddha from a practitioner in Chennai where he went after school. He returned to his hometown around 15 years ago. A police officer who asked not to be named said he made a name for himself by claiming he could treat impotency and sold what he claimed were aphrodisiacs.

Not surprisingly, his services were popular.

"In a month, at least 50 people used to visit him," the officer added. "His treatment worked for some so he became popular through word of mouth." But the practice also provided Kesavamoorthi an avenue to target young men, the officer said.

The police knew none of this, of course, but unable to make any headway in Rajan's case, they turned to Kesavamoorthi again.