COIMBATORE: Minister for Housing and Urban Development S Muthusamy on Wednesday gave away an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakhs to the kin of the elderly couple killed by robbers for gain in Erode.

The minister met the family members of Ramasamy (75), and his wife Bakkiyam (70), who were brutally murdered by robbers who hit them with an iron rod on their heads and stole their 10.75 sovereigns of gold jewellery. He consoled the grieving family members and handed over the ex gratia announced by Chief Minister MK Stalin.

Speaking to the media, the minister said necessary efforts have been taken to enhance safety measures to prevent similar incidents.

“Ten special teams are probing the case. All suspects and those with criminal antecedents have been brought under the investigation radar. Police are also screening the CCTV footage across Erode and Tirupur districts to track the culprits. The call details gathered from a radius of 5 km from the murder spot are being analysed,” he said.

Further, the Minister said CCTVs were fixed in a total of 552 places and police have expressed the need for increasing their numbers in residential areas. Muthusamy also expressed hope that the case will be cracked down soon.