TIRUCHY: Murugan, the mastermind of several burglaries, including the sensational break-ins at Lalithaa Jewellery and Punjab National Bank, in Tiruchy, died in a Bengaluru hospital on Tuesday morning. Police said the 46-year-old convict suffered a stroke and was hospitalised on October 12.
The body will be cremated in his home town Tiruvarur on Wednesday. Murugan had 92 criminal cases against him in the four southern States. P Hari Bhaskar, Murugan’s advocate, said, “He was booked in a total of 92 cases, including 40 cases in Tamil Nadu, 32 in Karnataka, 2 in Kerala and 16 in Andhra Pradesh.
Add petty cases and the number would be close to 100. Murugan’s health deteriorated over the past few months and he suffered a paralytic stroke. Of the 40 cases he faced in Tamil Nadu, Murugan was granted bail in 22 cases, including the Lalithaa Jewellery and PNB cases in May.” Murugan was admitted to the prison hospital in Bengaluru and shifted to a private hospital in mid October.
On October 2, 2019, a gang drilled its way into Lalithaa Jewellery showroom in Tiruchy and decamped with gold, diamond and platinum jewels worth `13 crore. One of the suspects, Manikandan, was arrested the next day and he revealed that Murugan was the brain behind the burglary. With police on his trail, Murugan surrendered in the Bengaluru court.