COIMBATORE: A 75-year-old woman was murdered by unidentified assailants who slit her throat and escaped with seven sovereigns of gold jewellery in Namakkal on Thursday.
The deceased, identified as Samburnam from Kamarajar Nagar in Tiruchengode, was alone when two men entered her house and attempted to snatch her five sovereigns of gold chain. As she cried out for help, the duo slit her throat with a knife and took away the gold chain and her two sovereigns of earrings.
By then, Samburnam’s son Subramanian (50), an astrologer, arrived home and was shocked to find his mother lying dead in a pool of blood. The assailants also attacked him with some sharp weapons and fled away from the spot on a two-wheeler.
On hearing his loud screams, the neighbours rushed to his rescue and informed Veppadai police. A team of police soon arrived and admitted a critically injured Subramanian at Pallipalayam Government Hospital. He was then shifted to a private hospital for further treatment. The body of the deceased woman was sent for post-mortem at Pallipalayam GH.
Namakkal district Superintendent of Police Yadav Girish Ashok visited the scene of crime. A sniffer dog and fingerprint experts were pressed into service. Police are scrutinising CCTV footage from the neighbourhood to track down the culprits.
This incident comes a week after an elderly couple was murdered for one sovereign of a gold jewel in Omalur near Salem.