CHENNAI: An 80-year-old woman living alone was bludgeoned to death at her residence in Nathanallur village near Walajabad in Kancheepuram on Wednesday, with police suspecting murder for gain after gold jewellery worn by the victim was found missing. The deceased was identified as Alangaram.
Police said she is survived by a son and four daughters. Her son and one of her daughters had visited her on Tuesday night, shared a meal and left for their homes later in the night. The incident came to light on Wednesday morning when neighbours grew suspicious after Alangaram failed to come out of her house for a long time, sources said. On checking, they found her lying in a pool of blood inside the house and alerted the police.
The Walajabad police rushed to the spot and conducted a preliminary inquiry. A grinding stone, suspected to have been used in the murder, was found near the body, a police officer said. The body was sent to the Kancheepuram Government Hospital for postmortem.
Kancheepuram SP Shanmugam has formed a special team to trace the suspects. While robbery is suspected to be the motive, police said they are also probing other angles, including property-related disputes.