The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : No clues to murder of elderly couple in Velachery

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 22, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

No clues to murder of elderly couple in Velachery

L. Srikrishna

Victims could have been done to death on Friday night, say police

CHENNAI: Police have no clues to the gruesome murder of an elderly couple in Velachery Sankaran Avenue Indira Street, which came to light on Monday night.

The bodies of Jacob and his wife, Moni Jacob, were recovered in a decomposed state on Monday night and sent for post mortem.

Preliminary investigations suggested that Jacob and his wife Moni Jacob could have been done to death on Friday night.

The couple were living alone in an independent house. Their elder son and daughter lived in the US, while the younger son was working in Bangalore.

As the house was locked from outside and the car was not in the porch, neighbours were under the impression that the couple may have gone out of town on Friday night.

An investigating officer said that since it was raining continuously on Friday, the murderers could have entered the house unnoticed, committed the crime and escaped in the car after locking the house from outside.

"We have a strong suspicion that at least one person in the gang was familiar to the Jacobs. But we are yet to get a clue as to why the couple were done to death in such a gruesome manner."

All the windows and the rear door in the house were locked from inside. As the LPG cylinder was found leaking, it is suspected that the murderers could have turned on the gas to cover the stench if the bodies decomposed. The power switchboard in the bedroom was found broken. The daily newspapers were lying on the verandah since Saturday, which has further strengthened suspicion that the murder took place on Friday night.

Joint Commissioner of Police (South) S Dorairaj told The Hindu that three fingerprints had been lifted. Seven special police teams have been formed to investigate the case, he added.

Abandoned car

He said Jacob's car, which was found abandoned in Padappai, was last seen by a person in Padappai.

Police cited an eyewitness account of a man dressed in white trousers and white shirt as driving the car, and who left the car hurriedly. Based on this input, a team is working on generating a portrait of the culprit, he further added.

Motive

The motive behind the crime is not known. It is also not known if the murderers had taken any valuables, the officer said.

Police questioned the Jacobs' maidservant Chinnaponnu and security personnel in the area. No arrests have been made so far.

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