MADURAI: The CB-CID sleuths solved the mystery behind the murder of Rajalakshmi, a five-year-old girl, and arrested three persons, including a DMK District Council member, who was also vice-president of the District Panchayat during the DMK regime.
According to police, Rajalakshmi, the five-year-old daughter of Thoththan, a Dalit agricultural labourer, went missing on January 1, 2011, from the street near her house in Kachaikatti village in Vadippatti taluk of the district. Her body was found the next day in the cattleshed of a house in the same village. The girl was found murdered with her throat slit and injuries were found on the head also. The silver anklets she was wearing too were missing.
The Vadippatti police then registered a case of murder. Two persons, Karuppu and his father Mahamuni, both butchers by profession, were arrested in this connection. Karuppu tried to cut off his own tongue while he was in police custody and was admitted to the Government Rajaji Hospital, Madurai. He then attempted suicide by jumping off the first floor and succumbed to injuries. His father too died in the hospital later. With both the accused in the case dead, the police were left in the lurch and the case remained unsolved.
Anklets provide Breakthrough The case was transferred to the CB-CID on April 21, 2011, based on representations from the relatives of the girl and members of various NGOs, which alleged that it was a case of child sacrifice.
CB-CID police Inspector John Britto and his team cracked the case. Briefing reporters on Saturday, S Rajeswari, SP, CB-CID, said a breakthrough was achieved in the case when they recovered the silver anklets pledged in a pawn shop in Vadippatti by one of the accused, T Ponnusamy.
“The mother of the child broke down when whe was shown the anklet,” said Rajeswari. It was a brand new ornament and was worn by the child Rajalakshmi for the first time on the fateful day, she said.
Narrating the gruesome murder of the girl for sacrifice, she said A Ayub Khan (50) of KachaiKatti, the main accused, was the Vice-President of District Panchyat at the time of murder.
He was constructing a building for his Royal Women Educational college in Thanichiyam. As the work could not be completed even after a lapse of two years, he thought that ‘evil forces’ were hindering the construction. He was informed that evil forces could be warded off by sprinkling the blood of a ‘first born’ child and asked the trio Murugesan (54) of Vadippatti, a broker by profession, Karuppu, the butcher and Ponnusamy (22), both from Kachaikatti,to arrange for it, the investigation revealed.
Karuppu and Ponnusamy kidnapped Rajalakshmi and detained her in former’s house. Lakshmi, the wife of Mahamuni and mother of Karuppu, relieved the child of the silver anklets, lest their sound would alarm the neighbours. (The anklets which were pledged in a pawn shop for Rs. 600 on the same day provided the breakthrough).
Later in the wee hours of January 2, 2011, Rajalakshmi’s throat was slit by Karuppu and the blood was collected in a vessel which was then passed on to Ayub Khan, who later sprinkled it around the college building in Thanichiyam village. According to police, Ayub Khan, gave Rs 4 lakh to Mahamuni and Rs 2 lakh to Murugesan.
The three accused, Ayub Khan, A Murugesan and T Ponnusamy, were arrested on Saturday.
The car used by Ayub Khan to transport the blood and the anklets of the child were also recovered by the police.
Lakshmi is absconding.