THENI: In a shocking incident, a 16-year-old girl, her boyfriend and two others were detained by the PC Patti police in Theni district on Monday for attempting to kill the girl’s father for opposing her love.
The 55-year-old father of the girl, who was attacked with sickles last Saturday, is in critical condition at a private hospital in Madurai. The accused were identified as A Muthukamatchi (23) and
M Selvakumar (23) of Thenkarai in Periyakulam, A Kannappan (21) of Lakshmipuram in Theni, and the minor girl. The girl was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board and sent to a juvenile home in Madurai on Monday.
Police said the girl, who was studying in a private school, was in a relationship with Muthukamatchi, a car driver, for the past one year. She was residing with her father, 36-year-old mother, and eight-year-old brother. Her father was into iron scrap business. A few months ago, after getting wind of her affair, the man thrashed his daughter, pulled her out of school, and sent her to a relative’s home.
Minor girl had plotted to kill father a month ago, say police
But the girl continued her relationship. Agitated over this, he met Muthukamatchi’s car owner and persuaded him to expel him from his driver job. Aggrieved, the minor plotted a conspiracy a month ago along with her lover and two of his friends to kill her father, police said. She also promised to pay Rs 2 lakh to Muthukamatchi’s friends.Police said the minor had earlier filched Rs 1 lakh from her house and bought a motorcycle for Muthukamatchi with the money.
As per her plan, the girl expressed apology to her father for her conduct. Believing her words, the father brought her back home last week and got her admitted to a private school. On Saturday, around 8.15 pm, the man came out of his house to purchase socks for his daughter. The girl immediately called up her lover and told him about it.
The gang, which was waiting for her call, launched a deadly attack on the man when he was driving on a desolate road on his motorcycle. Muthukamatchi and his friends pushed the man from his vehicle and attacked him with sickles, leaving him grievously injured, and escaped from the spot, police said. Some passersby rushed him to Government Medical College Hospital in Theni. He was later moved to a private hospital.
Speaking to TNIE, Theni superintendent of police Dongre Pravin Umesh said CCTV footages and deep wounds on the man’s head proved that it was a murder attempt but police were clueless about the perpetrators and their motive. During inquiry, police found an abandoned motorcycle. They then nabbed Muthukamatchi as the motorcycle was registered on his name and based on his confession, detained his two aides. Based on their statements, the girl was detained, the SP said.