Two persons were electrocuted after they stepped on to an illegal live electric fence erected to prevent wild boars from entering the farmland in Kuppanatham village near Chengam town in Tiruvannamalai on Friday.
In this connection, police said two farmers S. Arumugam (48) and K. Mahalingam (55) were arrested. They dumped the bodies of victims in a well in the village to evade police suspicion. Deceased persons were identified as V. Samundi (27) and K. Arun Kumar (18). All of them belong to Kuppanatham village on the fringes of the reserve forest (RF).
Inquiry revealed that a group of friends namely Mohammed Rias (24), C. Silambu (22), Samundi and Arun Kumar were two teams. Each team ventured into reserve forests through farms in the village to hunt small wild animals like rabbits and spotted deer.
Police said that a team comprising Rias and Silambu were able to catch a few wild rabbits and they left the forest area whereas Samundi and Arun Kumar were returning empty-handed from the RF into the farmland when they accidentally stepped onto the illegal electrical fencing.
Bodies of the duo were found in a farmwell near the forest area by police after family members complained that they did not return home after long hours. Investigations revealed that the key suspect Arumugam has cultivated paddy in his farmland.
Police said that Arumugam has reportedly erected illegal electrical fencing in an adjacent banana field, which was owned by farmer Mohammed Basha, to see footmarks of wild animals that damages crops during night.
Initially, Arumugam erected illegal electrical fencing in his land but he was unable to notice footmarks of wild animals despite damage to his crops. As a result, he relocated the electrical fence to his neighbour’s farmland, police said.
Cases were registered against the duo by Chengam police. Special teams were formed to nab Mahalingam, who is absconding. Bodies were sent to Government Medical College Hospital in Tiruvannamalai town for postmortem. A probe is under way.
Published – November 14, 2025 11:24 pm IST
