Five arrested for murdering couple in Dharmapuri

Five persons have been arrested in connection with the murder of a couple in the district on Saturday.

A couple was found murdered in Dharmapuri Sipcot premises on September 24. The Thoppur police identified the deceased as Manikandan (54) and his wife Hemalatha (50), residents of Sankarapuram in Theni district.

The police investigations revealed that T. Devaraj (31), a resident of Rasingapuram in Theni district, used to drive a car for Manikandan occasionally. He also learned that the couple had no children.

Devaraj, along with A. Ashwin (21) of Kanyakumari, N. Sabari (35), C. Nandhakumar (27), and M. Praveen Kumar (33) of Dharmapuri district kidnapped the couple on September 22 in a car and allegedly stabbed them after they came to know the couple had no money. The gang also looted 12 sovereign jewellery from the couple and dumped their bodies in the Dharmapuri Sipcot premises.

Based on investigations, the police nabbed the five suspects who hid in Dharmapuri on Saturday. While the prime accused, Devaraj, tried to escape from the police, he fell down and sustained a fracture in his leg. He was admitted to Dharmapuri Medical College Hospital and the remaining four accused persons were remanded in prison. Police found that the accused had sold the jewels in Dharmapuri and Thoothukudi.

Published - September 29, 2024 06:28 pm IST