MADURAI: Acquitting four persons in a 2012 double murder case in Dindigul due to a slipshod investigation, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Monday ordered departmental action against the then Thadikombu police inspector who investigated the case.
Justices N Anand Venkatesh and KK Ramakrishnan, who passed the order on a batch of appeals filed by the accused, pointed out that even the amputated part of the victim’s arm was not recovered by the probe officer.
Four suspects — Selvaraj, Selvapandi, Muthukumar and Thoongan — had challenged the conviction and life sentence imposed on them by a sessions court in Dindigul in 2023 before the HC bench.
According to prosecution, the deceased, Kannan and Periyasamy, were relatives and Kannan was married to the daughter of Selvaraj, one of the accused. The suspects developed enmity with the victims after the marriage between Kannan and Selvaraj’s daughter ended in divorce.
On May 18, 2012, as the victims were on their way to a Tasmac shop in Thadikombu, the four accused and three others, including Kannan’s ex-wife, allegedly came to the spot in an auto and attacked them with sickles.
Only four found guilty by trial court, 3 acquitted
After the attack, both were rushed to the hospital in separate ambulances. While Kannan died on the way, Periyasamy succumbed to his injuries five days later. A case was registered against all seven accused, but only four were found guilty by the trial court and the other three were acquitted.
Hearing the appeals, the judges noted that the prosecution’s case solely hinged on the eye-witness statements of Kannan’s parents and the dying declaration of Periyasamy.
Kannan’s parents claimed to have received a phone call stating that the accused were chasing their son and Periyasamy in Thadikombu. However, the person who informed them was not identified.
The HC also said the exact time of the incident was not known, and the investigation officer failed to record the statements of vital witnesses.
The judges also wondered if the inspector even visited the crime scene in person, as the records showed he neither took samples of the chilli powder nor recovered the amputated portion of Periyasamy’s left arm.