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CHENNAI: Someone forgot to tell this cop not to take everything on social media to heart. Investigators on Thursday said a 32-year-old constable with the Ennore police in Chennai and three accomplices on Tuesday night hacked to death a 22-year-old man in W Pudupatti in Virudhunagar district, following the policeman's discovery that the victim had posed as a woman on Facebook to con him of large sums of money.

Constable Kannan Kumar , who had taken leave for 10 days over the Pongal holidays to his hometown of Vathirayiruppu ( Watrap ), less than 5km from W Pudupatti, to meet the person he believed he was the woman he loved - only to discover that he'd been ripped off online - is now on the run, an investigating officer said.

"The Watrap police have arrested three of Kannan's accomplices, Vijayakumar, Tenzing alias Tamilarasan and another Tamilarasan and charged them with the murder of S Ayyanar," the officer said.

“They have admitted to the crime during interrogation and a police team has launched a search for Kumar.”

Duo met on social media, began an online relationship

Ayyanar, who had enrolled in a teacher training course, created a fake identity and profile on Facebook.

Kumar met Ayyanar on the social networking website and started an online relationship with him, fully believing that he was a woman.

“They even chatted online,” the officer said. “Ayyanar spoke to Kumar in a soft voice and made verbal overtures, and the constable soon believed that he was in love with this person.”

When Kumar went home and asked this person to meet him since they lived close by, Ayyanar refused, Virudhunagar superintendent of police M Rajarajan said.

This caused Kumar to become suspicious and, making checks through his friends, he soon realised that a man had cheated him.

Kumar was depressed and attempted to kill himself by consuming poison in his father’s house but survived and was hospitalised.

“When his friends came to visit him in hospital, the constable hatched a plan to take revenge on Ayyanar,” SP Rajarajan said.

“Kumar and his friends kidnapped Ayyanar and hacked him to death,” he further added.

The Chennai police said the constable had been on medical leave since December 12.

“We learned about the murder through the Virudhunagar police on Wednesday,” Ennore police inspector Sathyan said.

“Kumar has been attached to the law and order wing of the Ennore police since April 2016,” he added.

