ERODE: The Tamil Nadu police seem to have achieved a breakthrough in the probe into the spate of murders that rocked western districts as three men arrested on Sunday for the murder of an elderly couple at Sivagiri in Erode on April 28 have also confessed to the killing of three people at a farmhouse in Tiruppur district in 2024, police said.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, West Zone Inspector General of Police T Senthilkumar said the gang, which had murdered R Ramasamy (75) and his wife Bhagyalakshmi (65) at Sivagiri to loot 10 sovereigns of gold jewellery, has also confessed to its involvement in the triple murder at a farmhouse at Semalaigoundanpalayam in Tiruppur.
The Erode police on Monday also arrested a jewellery shop owner who allegedly helped the gang melt the stolen gold. “About 82 grams of gold bar, two wooden logs, mobile phone of Ramasamy, the murdered victim, three bikes, and multiple gloves have been seized from the gang,” police said.
The accused were identified as P Achiappan (48), N Madeshwaran (53), and R Ramesh (52) of Arachalur in Erode district, and P Gnanasekaran (40), a small-time jeweller of Chennimalaipalayam in Erode.
“We suspect that the gang members may have been involved in more than 10 criminal cases. We plan to take them into custody soon. For now, they have been arrested only in the Sivagiri case,” Senthilkumar said.
The IG said, “After the couple’s murder, we formed 12 teams to nab the accused. The special teams examined the records of history-sheeters in suburban areas of Erode district such as Arachalur, Kodumudi, and Sivagiri.”
Gang may be involved in more than 10 criminal cases: IG
“During the investigation, we got information about Achiappan. Since he was also engaged in coconut business, our suspicion grew,” the IG said. “We interrogated him and he confessed to committing the murder along with his accomplices, Madeshwaran and Ramesh.
They had gone to the murder spot on bikes on the night of April 28. They parked their bikes in a secluded spot near a sugarcane farm and entered Ramasamy’s house and hid their waiting for the right opportunity to strike.
As the power went out around midnight, Bhagyalakshmi had stepped out of the room and the gang bludgeoned her to death. When Ramasamy came out after hearing the commotion, he was also beaten to death. The gang later decamped with 10 sovereigns of gold jewellery,” the IG added.
“When Achiyappan once visited Ramasamy’s house regarding coconut trade, he found out that the couple was living alone. Similarly, the gang murdered three people and looted five sovereigns of gold jewels at an isolated farmhouse in Semalaigoundanpalayam in 2024.
We suspect that this gang may be involved in more than 10 criminal cases. Meanwhile, former state BJP chief K Annamalai welcomed the arrest and said the hunger strike planned from May 20 demanding police action has been cancelled. Several political parties and farmers’ associations have also welcomed the arrest of the accused.