Tamil Nadu police arrest gang of three for murder of elderly couples

Chennai: Tamil Nadu police on Monday arrested a gang of three allegedly involved in a series of murders for gain in Tiruppur and Erode districts by targeting elderly couples living alone in rural areas, revealing a deeper pattern of crime.

Though the trio have been nabbed for last month’s ghastly murder of a couple in Erode district before decamping with 20 sovereigns of gold from their farm house, police suspect that they could be involved in the murder of another 15 people, mostly couples over a period of five years.

48-year-old P Achiappan was the first to be caught on May 17 following which the police arrested N Madeshwaran (53), and R Ramesh (52) on Monday. It is believed that Achiappan confessed to the crimes of murder of elderly couple and burglary of their houses to the police before giving a tip-off about the whereabouts of his accomplices.

Ramasamy (75), and his wife Bakkiyammal (65) were found dead at their residence in Erode district and their jewellery stolen on April 28. The police had formed three special teams to crack the murder and that is when they discovered that the crime scene in Erode looked similar to the sensational murder of an elderly couple and their son in Palladam in Tiruppur in November 2024.

T Senthil Kumar, Inspector General of Police (West Zone) said the trio attacked the couple using wooden sticks. “We have seized 82 grams of melted gold jewellery. The accused got it melted with a goldsmith Gnanasekaran, who has also been taken into custody,” the IGP added. The trio and Gnanasekaran have been sent to judicial custody.

The officer also said that the trio confessed to their involvement in the 2024 triple murder of a couple and their son Senthil Kumar, who had come to stay with his parents for a night to attend a family function the next morning.

A senior police officer told DH that the trio mostly targeted senior citizens residing in farm houses on the outskirts of towns in Erode and Tiruppur districts. “Their modus operandi is simple. They find houses that are on the outskirts of the towns, do a proper recce and then target them in the night,” the officer added.

Kumar said investigations will cover whether they were involved in the murder of other elderly couples in the past. “We have just launched the probe and we will get more details in the coming days,” he said.