COIMBATORE: The youth who was arrested on Wednesday for pushing a college girl to suicide, was a ganja addict and had a violent streak who would habitually beat college students and extort money.
A native of Sivaganga, Vijay Sethupathi alias Kesavakumar, 22, was kicked out of a private college in Coimbatore a few months back for his bad behaviour.
But he stayed back with his college friends in the city and continued his acts.
In March this year, he was arrested along with his friends for brutally beating four college students demanding money.
Police said the victims hail from various places but came to Coimbatore for college studies and were staying in a room at Ramanujam Nagar in Singanallur.
On March 13, Keshav and five of his friends barged into the room and started assaulting them.
“Keshav, who brandished a knife, assaulted us with a cricket bat and kicked us on our face.
They asked us to kneel, thrust a ganja packet in our hands, took videos and threatened that they will complain to the police that we are selling ganja,’’ one of the victims told TOI.
The gang snatched away gold chain, laptop, mobile phones, watches, Rs 21,500 cash as well as shirts and pants from the students.
Police had booked Keshav and his friends under two counts and arrested three of them, while two managed to obtain bail and one is still at large.
It was following the arrest that Keshav’s mother telephoned the college girl and asked for Rs 10,000 to take him out on bail.
When the girl refused, the woman abused her.
Soon after his release on May 2, Keshav too abused the girl for not parting with the money when he was in jail.
He threatened that he would morph her photographs into obscene ones and upload them on the internet.
The girl eventually gave him a three-sovereign gold chain and Rs 35,000.
When he kept harassing her for more money, she committed suicide on June 13.
Subsequently, the Singanallur police arrested Keshav and his mother Mangayarakarasi for abetment of suicide.
Police have also got hold of a shocking video where Keshav, along with his roommates, is seen punching another college student repeatedly demanding him to share a video the latter had purportedly taken with his girlfriend.
Police have seized two more videos of Keshav, brandishing a sword.
Police however said Keshav’s was not a case of sexual abuse and that there were no women victims but for his girlfriend who committed suicide.
“During the preliminary interrogation, we came to know that he did not threaten any other women.
We have received a few footages of the youth beating others.
We are collecting the victims’ details for further investigation,” assistant commissioner of police (law and order, east sub-division) Arun said.