CHENNAI: The Chennai city police have launched a manhunt for four relatives of the three people murdered in Sowcarpet on Wednesday night. The relatives, including a woman, allegedly visited the house of the deceased at a particular time on Wednesday after which the three were found dead.
The deceased -- 74-year-old Dileep Thalil Chand, who ran a finance firm, his wife 70-year-old Pushpa Bhai, and their son 40-year-old Sheetal -- were shot dead at their house on the first floor of the three-storey residential apartment on Vinayaga Maestri Street in Sowcarpet. They were found dead in a pool of blood by the daughter of elderly couple on Wednesday night, hours after their death.
Based on preliminary investigations, police said that a car with four people, including Sheetal’s estranged wife Jayamala and her brother Vikas, had pulled up in front of the house close to the time of the murder.
Police said they learned that Sheetal was separated from his wife and children due to differences and their divorce case was pending in the court. Relatives of the deceased had reportedly told the police that the deceased’s in-laws had demanded a huge sum of money as alimony.
Incidentally, the deceased had lodged a complaint at the Elephant Gate police station in September claiming that his in-laws were bothering the family demanding a huge sum of money. The police, who had issued a CSR (community service register) number at the time, directed them to the courts as it was a civil dispute.
Police said on Wednesday, Jayamala, the suspect, accompanied by three of her relatives, arrived at her husband's house in Sowcarpet and held talks with them about the alimony. Police suspect that the discussion went poorly and the trio were shot dead as a result.
A senior police officer said that the CCTV footage showed the suspects in Tiruvallur as they crossed into Andhra Pradesh at around 9.30pm on Wednesday. He added that five special teams were formed to nab the suspects and that they would nab them soon. According to the members of the Rajasthan association, Thalil Chand was one of their oldest members and was involved in financing for almost five decades in Sowcarpet.