In finding elderly couple’s killers, Tamil Nadu cops ‘crack last year’s triple homicide, prevent upcoming heist’

The victims in the Erode case, Ramasamy (72) and his wife Bakkiyam (63) from Vilangattu Valasu village near Sivagiri, were last seen alive on April 28. Three days later, their decomposing bodies were discovered after their son, Kavisankar, alerted relatives that his parents were not answering phone calls. By then, the neighbours had also alerted police about a smell coming from the house.

Police found that around 10.75 sovereigns (86 grams) of gold jewellery and a mobile phone were stolen from the house. The case triggered public outrage and criticism from Opposition leaders, including AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami.

The case prompted a quick and massive police response. Over 600 police personnel were mobilised under the supervision of Coimbatore Range DIG V Sasi Mohan and Erode SP A Sujatha. Twelve special teams were formed to track down the culprits, combing through local networks of former convicts, farm workers, and known offenders. Investigators examined hours of CCTV footage and call detail records (CDRs) of dozens of suspects.

According to one of the investigating officers, the arrests came just in time. The suspects, he said, were plotting another heist.

“Cracking the case was very tough because they took every precaution before committing the murders,” the officer told The Indian Express. “They didn’t carry their cellphones to the crime scene. They used gloves throughout the act. And they had chosen the victims only after confirming there were no CCTV cameras near the house.”

Still, investigators decided to scan all available CCTV cameras across the village. “We found just one two-wheeler that passed through the area,” he said. “The footage didn’t show the registration number — only the vehicle’s model.”

With no clearer leads, officers began combing through purchase records of that specific model across the region in the last 10 years. “There was a key strategy in this process. We checked if any of those vehicles were owned by people with previous criminal records. That’s how we picked up the first suspect during a routine vehicle check. It led us straight to the others,” he said.

The turning point came on May 17, when one of the suspects was stopped during a routine vehicle check in Arachalur. Upon interrogation at the Kadathur police station, he allegedly admitted to the crime, leading to the arrest of two accomplices. The accused were identified as P Aachiappan (48), N Madeswaran (52) and R Ramesh (54), all coconut brokers from Arachalur.

According to West Zone Inspector General T Senthil Kumar, Aachiappan had visited the couple weeks before the murder on the pretext of some business, and learned that they lived alone. On the night of April 28, the trio waited near the house. At around midnight, they attacked the woman as she stepped outside, severing her ear and a finger to steal her jewellery. When her husband rushed out, they killed him too.

During subsequent searches, police recovered the stolen ornaments, the victim’s phone, three two-wheelers used by the accused, hand gloves, and the wooden log used in the murder. A local goldsmith, Gyanasekaran of Chennimalai Palayam, who had melted and returned the jewellery to the gang, was also arrested.

The case expanded when, under interrogation, the men allegedly confessed to another heinous crime — the murder of three of a family in Semalaigoundanpalayam village in Tiruppur district on November 28, 2024. The victims in that case were identified as Deivasigamani (78), his wife Alamathal (74), and their son Senthil Kumar (44). Five and a half sovereigns of gold and a mobile phone were stolen.

The CB-CID, which had taken over the Tiruppur case, is now working with Erode police to verify the accused’s involvement through custodial interrogation and forensic corroboration.

All four arrested individuals, including the goldsmith, were produced before a magistrate in Elumathur and remanded to judicial custody. The accused had previously faced trial in five robbery cases in 2015 but had maintained a low profile in the years since, police said.