Waste disposal bag helps police crack Perambur Torso case

Chennai: A medical waste disposal bag wrapped around the torso found inside a suitcase at Perambur Railway Station on Friday provided the crucial breakthrough in the murder case. The clue led police to a private hospital in Teynampet, and from there to the victim’s wife and her friend, who are suspected of murdering and dismembering Assam-native Ameer Ali before disposing of his remains at different locations across the city.

Police said Ruheema and her friend, Ashraf Ali, both from Assam, administered sedatives to the 40-year-old and slit his throat using a knife. They dismembered him at their residence in the TNUHDB tenements in Teynampet and disposed of his body parts at different locations.

Meanwhile, around 7am on Friday, passers-by noticed a blue suitcase emitting a foul smell near a staircase leading to platform 4 at Perambur railway station. Govt railway police personnel opened the suitcase and found a male torso. As there were no visible bloodstains on or around the suitcase, investigators suspected that the victim was murdered and dismembered elsewhere before the remains were abandoned at the station.

Police traced the medical waste bag in which the torso was wrapped to a private hospital in Teynampet. Inquiries at the hospital and CCTV footage led police to Ruheema. They found that Ameer, Ruheema, and Ashraf earned a living by assisting patients from Assam and West Bengal who travelled to Chennai for medical treatment, including arranging accommodation for them.

The sleuths found holes in Ruheema’s statements regarding her husband’s whereabouts, prompting further scrutiny. Preliminary probe revealed that she was upset over Ameer’s relationship with another woman and had frequent quarrels with him. Ameer allegedly assaulted and threatened her during an argument recently. Investigators said Ruheema and Ashraf then conspired to kill Ameer.

Police have secured both suspects for questioning. Search operations are underway to recover the victim’s severed head and other missing body parts. The torso has been sent to Govt Kilpauk Medical College Hospital for postmortem.