A 35-year-old man, who was recently arrested here for allegedly murdering his friend, has confessed to having murdered a total of eight persons, including his 75-year-old father and an AIADMK panchayat councillor, over a two-year period, police said.

Police yesterday said Sappani was arrested on the charge of murdering his friend Thangadurai, who had gone missing on September 7. He committed the murder for money.

Thangadurai’s body was found in a canal near Krishnasamuthiram in Chennai. Investigations revealed that Sappani had committed the murder, police said.

During the interrogation, Sappani confessed to murdering seven others for money and jewellery. He then buried their bodies, police said.

He told police he murdered his father for reprimanding him for committing crimes. He also confessed to murdering Kokila (70), Arputhasamy (70), Vijayvictor (27), Sathiyanathan (45), P Periasamy (65) and AIADMK councillor Kumresan (50).

Police said, he lured some of his victims with promises of treasure in remote areas. He also robbed them of their money and jewellery, they said.

He was arrested on Thursday and has been remanded in judicial custody. Police said, they have already exhumed two bodies to identify them through DNA tests.

The process to exhume the other bodies, buried at different places, is on, police said.