Elderly sisters found dead,2 held in city

Ranganayagi (85) was alone in her house as her son Ezhumalai had gone to Hosur with his wife and children. Her sister, Krishnaveni, who lives on the adjacent street decided to stay with Ranganayagi for a night. Krishnaveni’s son Saravanan, who went to see his mother on Sunday morning, was shocked to see Ranganayagi lying in a pool of blood in the hall, while Krishnaveni was found dead in the bathroom. Both had their throats slit.

Saravanan immediately alerted the Tiruverkadu police, who rushed to the spot. Police said that chilli powder was strewn all over the place and jewels were reported missing.

When they checked for the CCTV footage, the cameras and the storage equipment were found damaged.

After preliminary investigation, police found out that there was a property dispute between Ranganayagi’s son Ezhumalai and foster son Balakrishnan, for which the latter had approached the court.

On hearing information about the murder, all their relatives arrived at the house except Balakrishnan. On suspicion, police searched and arrested him in an inebriated state with blood stains on his shirt and in possession of the jewels. During the investigation, he reportedly confessed to have murdered the women with the help of a friend Sundaramoorthy. Both of them have been arrested.

Balakrishnan, who has been detained by police for killing his foster mother Ranganayagi and her sister Krishnaveni, was abandoned as an infant, said sources close to the family. It is said that Ranganayagi’sneighbour brought the kid from the hospital and since their family did not accept him, she took custody of the child along with her son and daughter. While her son Ezhumalai is into leasing of warehouses, Balakrishnan works as a driver. Ranganayagi’s husband had allegedly left a will, allocating one-acre land to Balakrishnan. However, as he did not have any valid documents for proof, he approached the court. Meanwhile, he came to take the documents from the house when Ezhumalai was not present. 

Police suspect that Balakrishnan must have killed her after she refused to give him the bureau keys. Ranganayagi’s family is said to have assets worth over Rs 200 crore.