Tirupur district police on Wednesday arrested four persons in connection with the murder of Thangavel (40), a powerloom worker, and his 13-year-old daughter. The girl was reportedly assaulted sexually before she was killed.
Both the victims were burnt to death. While Thangavel’s body was found near Mangalam, the girl’s body was recovered at Vadavalli near Coimbatore on Tuesday.
“Autopsy report indicates that the girl was burnt alive. The report also confirmed sexual assault on the girl,” Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar Singh told The Hindu .
Mr. Singh said that P. Subramani (43), M. Deivasigamani (39), K. Nagaraj (27), S. Anand (27) were arrested. P. Rangaraj (40), who is at large, and the four accused had abducted the two on Monday night.
“The gang had abducted the father and the girl, as the main accused, Subramani, had lent Rs. 60,000 to Thangavel and a sizeable portion of the amount was yet to be repaid,” he said. They took them to the house of Subramani where Thangavel was murdered. The body was then burnt and dumped in a pit, Mr. Singh said.
“The girl was taken to Vadavalli in Coimbatore where she was sexually assaulted by Rangaraj in the presence of Subramani,” Mr. Singh said. She was then hit with an iron rod on her head and burnt, the SP said.
