Chennai: 2015 flood victim's remains found near Tambaram

Chennai: Nearly two-and-half years after historic floods lashed Chennai on December 1, 2015 police found a victim's skeleton near the Adyar Canal on Tuesday night. According to the police, residents of Adyar Canal area informed Peerkankaranai police about a skull and skeleton amidst the bushes in the area on Tuesday. The residents had been cleaning the bushes as the area had turned home for reptiles.

The police, upon reaching the spot, also found an identity card nearby and the card had name and details of the deceased person. According to the details in the card, the deceased might be Arun Kumar, who went missing during the December floods.

Police said that Arun Kumar, who was 24 years old then and his friend Azaruddin, both from Pudhukottai were AC mechanics in a private company in Thirumuduvakkam. They were living in an apartment at Anjugam Nagar near Old Perungalathur.

“After waiting for nearly a day, Arun and Azar had left the terrace of their building and started wading through in the neck-deep flood waters, against the warning issued by other stranded residents. But they drowned and went missing,” the police said.

Azar's body was found near Adyar Canal after 40 days in a decomposed state, while Arun remained on missing list. Although the police have been suspecting the skeletons must be Arun's, they are yet to determine the identity beyond doubt.

“We have informed Pudhukottai police to find Arun's family so that we could conduct DNA testing to identify the skeleton. As of now, the skeletons are being kept at Chromepet GH,” the police said. The remains would be handed over to the family only after the DNA test. The victim's family is entitled to receive government relief, police added.