TIRUPPUR: An elderly couple and their son were murdered by an unidentified gang at their farmhouse inside a coconut grove at Semalaigoundanpalayam in Tiruppur late on Thursday. The deceased were identified as Deivasikamani (78), his wife Alamelu (a) Alamathal (75), and son Senthilkumar (46). While eight sovereigns have gone missing from the house, police are looking into possible property-related disputes in the murder.
According to police, farmer Deivasikamani was living with his wife in Semalaigoundanpalayam. The couple’s only son Senthilkumar was residing with his wife Kavitha (30) and their two children at Saravanampatti as he was working with a private IT company in Coimbatore.
On Friday, the family had planned to participate in a function at a relative’s house. To take his parents for the function along with him, Senthilkumar had come to Semalaigaundanpalayam and the three had slept at their home on Thursday.
Early on Friday, Vazhupuraan, a barber, had gone to the house to offer his service as per Deivasikamani’s instruction the previous day. When Vazhupuraan went there, he allegedly saw Deivasikamani fighting for his life in a pool of blood outside the house with severe head injuries. The shocked barber rushed into the house and found Amalathal and Senthilkumar beaten to death. On information, the Avinashipalayam police rushed to the spot. The bodies were sent to Tiruppur Government Medical College Hospital for autopsy.
“The family owns 14.5 acres of farmland. Their house is located in the middle of a coconut grove of about 4.5 acres. There are no houses nearby. There are no surveillance cameras in the area. Those who know that an elderly couple lives their alone may have been involved in the murder,” a police officer said.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and BJP president K Annamalai condemned the incident and slammed TN government over deteriorating law and order situation. Speaking to reporters, Tiruppur City Police Commissioner S Lakshmi said, “Vehicle inspections are under way across TN. Seven special teams have been formed.”