The Hindu : T.Nagar murder triggers fresh fears

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 23, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai

T.Nagar murder triggers fresh fears

By S.Shivakumar

CHENNAI May. 22. In a crime peaking a season dominated by fear, a 55-year-old woman Siddha doctor was murdered in the heart of the city last night, apparently during a robbery attempt.

The murder of Malarkodi, who lived in her hospital-cum-residence in a sprawling compound on Raghaviah Road, T.Nagar, is the first this year committed ostensibly for gain. Two other murders for different reasons were also reported in the city today.

The crime came to light this morning when a nurse, Sasikala, arrived at the hospital. The victim was found dead in a pool of blood in an inner room. The culprits had bodily lifted her bedridden brother, Anandakumar, also a Siddha practitioner, to an adjacent room for opening the cash box, and dumped him in a corner there, in an unconscious condition, before escaping with about Rs. 3 lakhs and some jewels.

The discovery of the crime nearly 12 hours after it was committed came as a shock to the community, as the Siddha hospital was supposed to be under night police watch after a burglary attempt had been made two weeks ago.

``A fortnight ago, some intruders entered the house and cut telephone cables. However, nothing was removed, as a dog barked and the watchman raised an alarm,'' said a hospital trustee.

Following the robbery attempt, the local police kept a register near the gate of the house and patrol personnel were supposed to sign it every night. Apparently this practice stopped after a couple of days.

This morning, Ms. Sasikala, who arrived at 9 a.m., found things amiss. ``When I noticed that the door was not locked and that it was just closed I became suspicious and called out for the doctor. Hearing a feeble response, I rushed in and was shocked to find the house ransacked and Malarkodi dead. I immediately alerted the hospital trust members who, in turn, informed the police'', she said.

Mr. Anandakumar, in a state of shock, said a two-member gang barged in when his sister went towards the main door for locking it. The intruders pushed her inside and strangled her when she offered resistance.

``I even pleaded with the culprits, asking them to take whatever they wanted but to spare our lives. But they carried me and made me open the cash box. I fell unconscious, and realised only this morning that my sister had been murdered'', he told the police.

During 2000-2001, 11 murders for gain were reported in the city, six of them committed last year. The police claim eight cases have been solved. The number of murders committed out of enmity and following disputes is far higher.

In the T.Nagar case, the police are puzzled, as neighbours did not hear any dog barking. The watchman was away at the time. The murder in a relatively affluent section of the city has triggered fresh fears that criminals can strike freely.

The police are still in the dark about the culprits behind the heist in a bank at Besant Nagar, in which an employee was killed. Similarly, the spate of burglaries at Besant Nagar remains unsolved. Of over 29 grave house break-in incidents, 53 robberies and 20 major thefts reported in Chennai this year, 10, 33 and 12 cases respectively have been detected.

The previous Jayalalithaa Government equipped the city police with jeeps for a modern patrolling system. This system is now conspicuous by its absence. The old vehicles are still retained, but are deployed for ``enforcement'' in wine shops where clandestine bars function.

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