COIMBATORE: Three persons including a woman were brutally murdered by unidentified persons in separate incidents in Dharmapuri and Salem districts.
The bodies of a man and woman with severe assault injuries were found along the road to the SIPCOT industrial estate near Nallampalli in Dharmapuri on Tuesday morning.
The identity of the deceased could not be known as their faces remained disfigured and completely burnt.
On receiving information, the Adhiyamankottai police rushed to the spot and sent the bodies for a post-mortem at Dharmapuri Government Hospital.
Four special teams have been formed to probe the double murder and CCTV images are being screened to trace the culprits.
In another chilling murder, a temporary staff of the TNEB department was beheaded by unidentified assailants in Salem.
The deceased, Asaithambi (45) from Kalvarayan Hills was working as a temporary staff in the TNEB office in Karumandurai.
He is survived by his wife Rasamma, sons Prakash (25) and Annamalai (21) and an 18-year-old daughter.
Police said the assailants beheaded him while he was alone at home after his family had gone out on Monday.
His wife came around 8 pm and was shocked to find him dead in a pool of blood.
On receiving information, the Kariyakoil police rushed to the spot and sent the body for a post-mortem at Salem Government Hospital.
The forensic experts gathered evidence, while a sniffer dog was pressed into service. An inquiry is under way to nab the criminals.