In yet another slaying suspected to be the handiwork of a serial killer who primarily targets security guards, a 50-year-old watchman in a private firm at Vadapalani here was found dead of head injuries on Thursday morning. His body was also partially burnt. The watchman, Basha, was the third security guard to be found dead in mysterious circumstances in this area of Chennai over the past few weeks, and speculation is rife that he is the fifth victim of a suspected psychopath.The victim, who incidentally had joined the company only at 10.30 pm on Wednesday, was found with liquor bottles and some newspapers around his body, and the initial suspicion was that his death was caused by a fire accident due to sparks from a mosquito coil. However, police retrieved a knife and found bloodstains on the spot, confirming that the guard’s death was a homicide. Though post-mortem report is yet to come, it is believed that Basha died due to the injuries to his head.The incident has sparked panic among security guards, most of whom are not armed with anything more lethal than a whistle and stick. Basha is the third watchman to be found dead in similar circumstances since the last week of June. Another guard, 65-year-old Karuppazhagi, was found charred to death on July 8, while watchman Periyasamy was found dead on June 24, with his head smashed with a stone. In addition to these victims, a rag picker—found on July 1 — and a beggar were also killed in a similar fashion in the city. Going by initial reports, the victims were found with either burn injuries or head injuries or both, and except for one case, the murders do not appear to have robbery as a motive, leading to fears that a ‘psychopath’ is stalking the city. In something of an embarrassment for police, early this month one Ekambaram, a mentally unstable man was arrested for two murders. The 35-year-old man, as confirmed by his brother, was said to be taken over by a fit of insanity. However, since then, three more similar killings have been reported in the same area.The sub-inspector at the local station where the latest case was reported said that the police was conducting the preliminary investi- gations and could not comment on the issue at present. Senior officials have gone into a huddle, and have formed special teams under deputy commissioners to solve the murders and the mystery.When the last similar murder—that of an unidentified rag picker—was reported on Monday, police commissioner R Sekar said that the city police was taking the cases as a challenge and added that the crimes would be solved soon.
