CHENNAI: A 72-year-old Siddha doctor and his wife were hacked to death in their house in Mittanemill in Avadi on Sunday night allegedly by a 20-year-old man who was a patient at the clinic run by the doctor at his home. Police said the accused, when nabbed on Monday, still had blood stains on his shirt.
The double murder is the latest in a series of crimes reported in the Avadi commissionerate this month.
Police said in the latest case, the victims, Sivan Nair, an ex-army man, and Prasanna Kumari (63), were murdered by Mahesh, son of Tara Ram, hailing from Jodhpur in Rajasthan.
According to police, Mahesh worked at a hardware store in the same locality and began visiting Nair’s clinic in 2019 for a variety of minor ailments, including gastric trouble.
“During one visit two months ago, Prasanna Kumari seems to have reprimanded him for entering the house without permission. She asked him to stand by the gate and they would bring the medicine to him. We suspect Mahesh was enraged by this incident,” said a senior police official.
‘Rise in number of crimes cannot be seen as a trend’
“On Sunday night, Mahesh went to the couple’s home when they where alone. He started an argument with them, which escalated into a shouting match, and then he slashed Prasanna Kumari’s throat with a knife in a fit of rage. When Nair attempted to stop him, Mahesh proceeded to stab him. The couple died on the spot,” police said. Police found a mobile phone next to Prasanna Kumari’s body, which they used to identify the accused. Subsequently special teams were formed to nab Mahesh.
The senior police official said, “The couple has a son, who is also a Siddha practitioner. He said some weeks ago his mother told him that she felt uncomfortable whenever Mahesh visited the house. When we finally arrested Mahesh, there were still blood stains on his shirt.” The accused does not have any other cases filed against him. Following an inquiry, he will be remanded under judicial custody, police said. The victims’ bodies were sent to the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital for postmortem examination.
Earlier this month, an alleged custodial death of history-sheeter Shantakumar was reported from Avadi commissionerate on April 13. On April 15, an unidentified gang robbed a jewellery store at gunpoint in Muthapudupet and one on Saturday, history-sheeter was brutally murdered by a gang, with his hands and head severed. Asked about the seemingly high number of crimes in the region, Avadi commissioner K Shankar said the recent series of crimes were all isolated incidents. “This cannot be seen as a trend. Compared to last year, number of murders has in fact gone down in our jurisdiction,” he said.