An 89-year old mother and her 64-year old daughter were found dead under suspicious circumstances in their house in Alwarthirunagar on Sunday afternoon.
Police believe it could either be murder or possibly, natural deaths, as both women were senior citizens. The two women had died a couple of days ago, and their bodies were found in a decomposed state.
Police said because of the intense heat, the bodies had decomposed faster than normal.
On Sunday morning, Rajesh, who is the son of Yogajayam (64), tried calling his mother, who lived on Ramanujam Street in Alwarthirunagar near Valsaravakkam, along with her mother Lalitha. Rajesh lives in the United States. As there was no response, he called his mother-in-law, Uma Natarajan, a resident of Saligramam and asked her to check on his mother.
According to M. Chandrasekhar, who is the assistant commissioner of police (Valsaravakkam), when Mrs. Uma Natarajan went to Yogajayam's house on the first floor she found the door locked. When a locksmith she brought in tried to open the door, he found it open. Mrs. Natarajan found Yogajayam sitting on a plastic chair in the bedroom, dead.
“Yogajayam's 89-year old mother Lalitha, was found seated on the sofa and she was also dead. Mrs. Natarajan alerted the police,” said Mr. Chandrasekhar.
Investigations revealed that the jewellery both women were wearing was intact. “There was no sign of a forced entry, and the valuables in the almirah were also intact,” said M. Ashok Kumar, deputy commissioner of police, T Nagar.
The police also added that they were not able to see any strangulation marks, as the bodies were decomposed. “Only a post-mortem report can reveal whether it was murder. The deaths could also have been natural. Lalitha was under medication and could have died naturally. Yogajayam could have died having been unable to bear her mother's demise. Investigations will reveal what happened,” said Mr. Chandrasekhar.
A few relatives of the deceased arrived at the Valsaravakkam police station. “They were rich people and moved into the house only six months ago, as their own house on a parallel street was being renovated,” a relative of theirs said.
Yogajayam's husband Venkataramakrishnan had been an engineer in Neyvelli and had died some years ago. “We were not able to go into the house as the police did not want us to disturb any evidence inside. We are also waiting for the post-mortem report. Both women had age-related health problems,” the relative added.
Rajesh is expected to arrive in the city on Monday morning.
