MADURAIMadurai City police have found that the two armed assailants, who were contracted to murder K. Lavanya of Bharati Ula Street here in her bedroom, were instructed to murder even her two minor daughters, by Lavanya’s husband Kumaraguru.
The police have arrested five persons, including Kumaraguru, and the two assailants. They were remanded in custody on Sunday.
“Kumaraguru, who was unable to manage business loss, got frustrated as his wife refused to pledge the properties in her name to raise loans. Hence, he employed assailants to murder his wife. He even asked them to finish off his two daughters and his mother, if they came in their way,” Commissioner of Police S. Davidson Devasirvatham said.
Kumaraguru, who was running a utensils shop, had already sold some of his properties. When he asked his wife to help him raise loans with the properties in her name, she refused, saying that their children might require them for their future.
“Then, Kumaraguru approached his worker Alex Pandian who introduced him to some people who, in turn, arranged the assailants,” the Commissioner said.
On December 24, when the family members had gone to a temple in Dindigul district, the contract killers attempted to murder Lavanya there. But, they could not accomplish their task and she sustained bleeding injuries.
“It was her husband who diverted Lavanya from the real motive of the assault, claiming that the attempt to murder her could be part of a bid to rob her and convinced her not to lodge a police complaint,” Tallakulam Inspector of Police A. Malaichamy said.
Mr. Davidson said the man behaved like a person with a serious psychological problem. An MBA graduate, he could not manage his father’s business. He had secured his bungalow with 16 CCTV cameras, which he switched off and allowed the assailants enter the house at around 3 a.m. by opening the front door.
The assailants went straight to the first floor where Lavanya was sleeping with her daughters. After assaulting them, they took away Lavanya’s mobile phone. When Kumaraguru’s mother tried to catch hold of one of the assailants, he inflicted cut injuries on her head.
The police said Selvakumar and Thangapandi organised the murder through hirelings, Senthil Kumar (20) and his brother Sathya Surya (19) from Melur.
The police were on the lookout for Thangapandi.
