TIRUCHY: With the arrest of a 39-year-old man from Kazhuvanthondi in Ariyalur on Tuesday, the police claim to have cracked the case of double murder that was reported from a eucalyptus grove in that district last Saturday. However, it has done little to alleviate the pain and grief of the bereaved, and the state of shock which villagers are left in, learning that greed for a glittering golden chain led to a wandering thief to claim the lives of two women they called their own.
Periyavalayam in Ariyalur district, a village some 100 km away from Tiruchy, was gearing up to celebrate Deepavali with fervour after two years of Covid-19 pandemic-induced hardships when the discovery of the bodies of Kannagi (47) and Malarvizhi (35) at a farmland on October 22 struck them like a thunderbolt. The spot surrounded by a eucalyptus grove was hardly 800 metres from the village road.
This reporter, who was at his ancestral home in the same village, rushed to the spot after a wailing woman informed him of the discovery of the bodies of Vicky's mother and that of the other woman. Vicky alias Vigneshwaran(26) is the reporter’s neighbour, whom the latter has known since he was a child. Vicky lost his father as a toddler and was brought up by his mother, who had that day headed to the fields to collect mushrooms for cooking. It was only four months ago that Vicky got married.
The other deceased, Malarvizhi, was mother to two school-going children and the wife of cable TV operator Kalaimani. The deceased were related to each other. At the spot, the bodies of the women were lying about 20 feet apart, each bearing multiple injuries all over. Shortly, police officials joined the hundreds at the spot. The wailing by the relatives of the deceased and the villagers overpowered the place. Jayankondam MLA KSK Kannan also visited the spot.
Police inquiry followed with assistance from forensic experts and a sniffer dog. The police soon formed several teams and investigated the incident from various angles. Meanwhile, the bodies were shifted to Jayankondam government hospital for post-mortem. On Sunday, the bodies were brought to the village for last rites, following which the women were cremated side by side. Tuesday saw the arrest of N Balraj(39) of Kazhuvanthondi whose alleged evasive replies during inquiry raised suspicion among the police.
Further interrogation revealed that Balraj killed the two women in order to steal their jewellery. "When he tried to snatch the gold chain from Malarvizhi, she fought back. So he attacked and killed her. At that time, Kannagi, who was plucking mushrooms some distance away, witnessed the incident and tried to call her relatives on the mobile phone.
Though she tried ringing several people, none attended the call save for one. But before she could speak to the person, the murderer killed her too. All this happened around 8.15 am," police sources said. After committing the murders, Balraj went to Karaikal by bike and returned with an aim to divert the police's attention, they added. Kannagi's mobile phone was recovered from a lake at a nearby village and the six-sovereign chain from the murderer's house, they also said.