Orchestrated fatal accident of Coimbatore woman in 2019 uncovered as police crack new murder case

Police investigation into the recent murder of a man at Karumathampatti, near Coimbatore, revealed that one of the accused had murdered his wife in an orchestrated accident in 2019.

According to the police, the investigation into the murder of P. Elangovan, 42, who was hacked to death by a group of men at his rented house at Vagarayampalayam, near Karumathampatti, on November 15, led them to five suspects — Amirtharaj, 46, of Vagarayampalayam, Micheal Pushparaj, Veerasamy, Arockiasamy and a 17-year-old boy, all from Dindigul district.

The police found out that Elangovan was a tenant in a house belonging to Amirtharaj. Though Amirtharaj was present when the police visited the scene of crime and carried out other investigation procedures, he emerged as the prime suspect after the police managed to trace the four others, said a police officer.

The Dindigul natives told the investigators that they were tasked by Amirtharaj to murder Elangovan. During a detailed questioning to establish the motive for the crime, Amirtharaj made a shocking revelation — Elangovan had helped him murder his (Amritaraj’s) wife in 2019.

According to investigators, Amritharaj suspected the character of his wife Vijayalakshmi and plotted to end her life. He sought the help of his tenant Elangovan, who worked in the textile sector.

“Vijayalakshmi died after being run over by a truck on Karumathampatti - Annur road in 2019, which was planned and executed by Elangovan with the help of another man. It was disguised as an accident. After the death of his wife, Amritharaj managed to get an insurance sum of ₹15 lakhs and married another woman. Elangovan received various favours from Amritharaj for the murder. However, he continued to demand more and started blackmailing Amritharaj. When Amritharaj asked Elangovan to vacate the house recently, the latter demanded him to register the rented house in his name or pay an equivalent sum,” said a police officer.

The police said that Amritharaj hired the four Dindigul natives to murder Elangovan, who had threatened him of revealing the mystery behind the death of Vijayalakshmi to the police, if his demands were not met. The hired men hacked Elangovan to death on November 15.

The police, who secured the five accused on Sunday, were also in the efforts to trace the truck driver, who was involved in the killing of Vijayalakshmi.

Published - November 17, 2024 10:23 pm IST