CHENNAI: A trail of stolen gold from a string of house burglaries has led Salem police to two men allegedly involved in the murder of an elderly couple, cracking the three-month-old case.
According to a Maalaimalar report, the arrested men have been identified as Dineshkumar (32), son of Chandran of Santhapettai, Kadaiyampatti, and Surya (26), son of Subbu of Santhapettai Kattuvazhu.
The victims, Jayaraman (85) and his wife Amaravathi (70), were living in a house near the Olakkur tamarind tree bus stop on the road connecting Jodukuli and Chinnathirupathi. The couple was engaged in making coconut-leaf products.
On July 19, their grandson Navaneethan, who regularly brought them food, went to their house around 8 pm and found them dead with severe injuries to their heads.
The Theevattipatti police registered a murder case and launched an investigation. A sniffer dog was pressed into service and tracked the route towards the Salem-Bengaluru National Highway for about 500 metres. Police subsequently examined CCTV footage along the route and formed more than five special teams to trace the suspects.
Meanwhile, a series of burglaries reported in the Omalur sub-division helped police make a breakthrough. A three-sovereign gold chain was stolen from the house of Suman in Kadaiyampatti while his family had gone to Velankanni. In another burglary at Jodukuli Pudur, 1.5 sovereigns of gold jewellery and silver anklets were stolen.
In a separate incident, the house of Retired Army personnel Selvaraj in Thoppur, where he lived with his wife Shenbagavalli and son Nandakumar, was burgled while the family had gone to a temple in Tiruvannamalai. The burglars allegedly stole eight sovereigns of gold jewellery and Rs 14,000 in cash.
During the investigation, police traced some of the stolen jewellery to a jewellery shop in Kadaiyampatti. The documents and CCTV footage obtained from the shop helped investigators identify Dineshkumar and Surya as the suspects.
Police went to the suspects' houses but found them missing. After learning that police were looking for them, the duo surrendered before Kadaiyampatti South Village Administrative Officer (VAO) Sudhakar. The VAO subsequently handed them over to the Theevattipatti police.
During interrogation, police said Dineshkumar had been working at a beauty salon in Nachinampatti, where he became friends with Surya. According to police, Dineshkumar, who allegedly wanted to lead a lavish lifestyle, had previously been involved in assault and robbery cases.
Police said Surya was in need of money as marriage talks were underway for him. The duo allegedly decided to commit burglaries together and targeted several houses.
According to the police, they attacked and killed Jayaraman and Amaravathi before stealing their gold jewellery. They later allegedly burgled the houses of Suman, another house at Jodukuli Pudur, and the residence of Dineshkumar's aunt Shenbagavalli and her husband Selvaraj.
Police said about 14 sovereigns of gold jewellery, silver articles and cash allegedly stolen by the duo were recovered.
The accused were produced before the Omalur court and remanded in Salem Central Prison.