Mob kills father of woman’s murderer

Police sources said that both families were into the cable television business and they became rivals over a period of time. Cops suspect that this rivalry led to the first murder. The first victim has been identified as Sathya (30), a private school teacher. Her husband Marimuthu (45) is a cable operator and they have two children – Tharanidharan (9) and Diviksha (6). 

Vijay and his brother Ramesh were also cable TV operators and rivals of Marimuthu. Their father Rajendran (60), who was later murdered by the villagers, is a farmer and state president of a fringe political party Ulaipali Makkal Munnetra Katchi. Both families lived in Aragalur, about 77 kms from Salem City.

Police said that Marimuthu had gone to Sabarimala a couple of days ago. On Saturday morning, Sathya was alone in the house as her children had gone out to play. Meanwhile, locals questioned Vijay, who was about to enter the house, but the youth who had a hidden knife, claimed that he was there to talk about the business. 

The residents of the area said that they heard Sathya screaming for help and a boy saw Vijay kicking and beating her through the window. He immediately alerted the others. The boy also witnessed Vijay slitting Sathya’s throat. She died on the spot. The angry locals dragged Vijay out of the house and beat him up. His father Rajendran rushed to the spot and he was beaten up with logs and other blunt articles. The villagers then locked Rajendran and Vijay in Sathya’s house, close to her body.

Villagers also vandalised Vijay’s computer centre near the Aragalur Bus Stand, Rajendran’s house and burnt their two-wheelers. The locals refused to allow the police to take Sathya’s body for autopsy. It took nearly four hours for the cops led by Salem District Superintendent of Police (SP) P. Rajan and revenue officials to convince them to open Sathya’s house. 

“When we stepped in, Sathya and Rajendran were already dead. Vijay was badly injured and was sent for treatment. We booked Vijay under Section 302 (punishment for murder) of the IPC and the villagers who had beaten Rajendran and Vijay under Sections 302 and 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC,” Rajan told DTNext. 

The police said Vijay will be arrested as soon as he is discharged from the hospital. “We are also trying to identify who beat up Rajendran and Vijay,” the SP said. On the other hand, police sources quoted Vijay as saying that he murdered Sathya over personal issues, which was yet to be ascertained by the police.