THOOTHUKUDI: In a gruesome incident, a 43-year-old man allegedly murdered his daughter and her husband on Monday for eloping and marrying against his wishes in Thoothukudi district. The deceased were identified as M Reshma (20) and V Manickaraja (28) of Xavier Nagar at Veerapatti near Ettayapuram. Both of them hail from the same community, are related and lived on the same street.
Sources said the accused S Muthukutti, a lorry driver, had arranged Reshma’s marriage. However on June 28, she eloped with Manickaraja, a coolie wage labour, and a woman missing complaint was lodged at the Ettayapuram police station.
A police officer said the couple wed in Thirumangalam near Madurai and returned to Veerapatti a week ago. On Monday, Muthukutti barged into Manickaraja’s house when the couple was alone. He slit Reshma’s throat and hacked Manickaraja, leaving both dead, said the police.
Four teams formed to arrest accacc used
According to the officer, the couple had spoken to their parents in the presence of police after the marriage. However, Muthukutti was very arrogant and could not accept that his daughter was a major and could decide her own life, the officer added.
Police said they had suspected a threat to the couple’s lives and had warned against returning to the village but they had arrived without informing the cops.
Thoothukudi SP L Balaji Saravanan inspected the crime spot and formed four teams to nab Muthukutti who is at large. A sniffer dog squad and fingerprint experts were pressed into service to trace the accused. Ettayapuram police shifted the bodies to a government hospital.