A 52-year-old man was hacked to death at his house in Kottivakkam early on Tuesday. Gold jewellery weighing eight sovereigns and over Rs. 84,000 was also found missing. The intruder also turned the gas cylinder on before escaping, the police said.
The murder took place between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. when M. Vinayagam, a driver with a private shipping corporation, was asleep in his house on Pillaiyar Koil Street in Ilango Nagar. His wife, Rani (48), was sleeping in an adjacent room.
“Around 5.15 a.m. the neighbourhood was woken up by loud screams of Rani. We all rushed into her house and found Vinayam lying in a pool of blood on the bed with multiple cut wounds. The back door was broken,” R. Senthil, the victim’s neighbour told The Hindu.
According to the couple’s son, V. Gopi, an IT professional, who lives in Perumbakkam, his mother woke up around 5.15 a.m. and found his father lying dead. “She didn’t hear anything throughout the night. Two gold chains weighing eight sovereigns and some cash kept in an almirah were missing,” Mr. Gopi said. The killer did not touch another 30 sovereigns kept in the almirah, the police said.
The couple resided alone in the house in the thickly-populated neighbourhood close to Buckingham Canal. The killer, armed with a knife possibly, may have gained entry into the house by damaging a fence made of iron scrap and breaking open the fragile rear door made of asbestos sheet, the police said.
Police teams headed by deputy commissioner of police (Adyar) R. Sudhakar conducted preliminary investigations at the crime scene and fingerprint experts searched for clues. A police sniffer dog was also brought to the spot. Thoraipakkam police have registered a case of murder.
Police are questioning Vinayagam’s neighbours and acquaintances. Persons who frequented the house to buy idly batter, produced and sold by Rani, may also be grilled, a police officer said.
