Charred body of youth identified near Minjur

CHENNAI: The charred body of a 25-year-old man, with his eyes plucked out, that was found near Minjur in Tiruvallur district on Wednesday, has been identified as that of a team leader working in a leading consultancy services company on Anna Salai. The body was discovered by residents and, on arriving at the spot, police found empty liquor bottles, cigarette butts and a motorbike at the scene. A mobile phone inserted into the rectum of the body helped the police in tracing the identity of the victim. With the help of the numbers recorded in the SIM card, they found that he was J Pradeep, a resident of Thirumangalam, near Anna Nagar, and native of Madurai. He was living with a friend in a house here and was last seen alive on May 8. No ‘missing’ complaint was lodged at the police station, as his friends thought that he may have gone elsewhere for a few days, sources said.Pradeep worked as a team leader in a leading private consultancy services company located in Spencer Plaza on Anna Salai, the sources added. Police suspect that he was murdered by persons known to him and are questioning his friends and colleagues.Theft at Steel FirmPolice are investigating the alleged theft of `6.25 lakh from a steel company located on Kesava Iyer Street in Elephant Gate. Company owner Vinod Kumar said that he lived wih his family on the ground floor and his office functioned from the first and second floors. On Wednesday, when he went to his office, he found the doors open and `6.25 lakh kept in the safe missing. Since there was no sign of break-in, police suspect the theft could have been an insider’s job.