Elderly couple were found murdered at their Thirumalnagar residence in Poonamallee
Police sources said that from the day one of the investigation, the needle of suspicion was on the tenants who visited the house frequently. ‘Two days before they were found dead, the couple had removed the To-let board from their gate, which added
Chennai: More than a month after a home alone elderly couple were found murdered at their Thirumalnagar residence in Poonamallee, the city police arrested three men in connection with the murder. The youths were working at a popular city restaurant and gained entry into the house in guise of tenants seeking a portion on rent, police sources said.
K. Babu, 62, a retired engineer from a private electrical company and his wife, B.Shanthi, 55, a private Hindi tutor were found dead at their residence on August 11 by a neighbour, Chitra who alerted the police. Shanthi was found strangulated on the ground floor while her husband was beaten to death in the washroom in the first floor.
Police sources said that from the day one of the investigation, the needle of suspicion was on the tenants who visited the house frequently. ‘Two days before they were found dead, the couple had removed the To-let board from their gate, which added to our suspicion,’ an official privy to the investigation said.
While the police initially denied the double murder to be for gain, sources said that around 15 sovereigns of jewellery looted from the house was recovered from the trio. The three were identified as S.Shankar, 31, A.Balu, 25 and S.Ganapathy, 21.
Ganapathy and Balu are natives of Kottampatti in Madurai while Shankar hailed from Pudukottai, police said. All three of them worked at a popular restaurant in Mogappair. Shankar was in a deep financial trouble and he mortgaged most of his wife's jewellery. He roped in his friends and they decided to target home alone senior citizens to make a quick buck, according to a police official.
On August 10, they had gained entry into the house saying that they wanted to check the portion after the painting work and executed the murder. ‘The arrested persons will be produced before a court on Friday. Investigations are on to ascertain their involvement in any other crime,’ a police official said.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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