Date:20/03/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/03/20/stories/2008032058080300.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

7-year-old girl murdered

Staff Reporter

CHENNAI: A seven-year-old girl was allegedly killed by a 40-year-old man in Kumaran Nagar on Tuesday.

The police said that Sudha alias Ammu (35), a film artist and divorcee, had two daughters. She allegedly had an illicit relationship with the accused, Paneerselvam, a divorcee. He was a film technician.

After leaving her children in the custody of her elder sister here, Sudha had gone to Dubai a few months ago. Investigations revealed that Paneerselvam (40) urged Sudha to return immediately failing which he would kill her daughters. On Tuesday, he picked up the two children from their aunt’s house and took them to his house in Kumaran Nagar.

After sending the elder girl to a shop, he killed Illavarasi (7) by forcibly dipping her head into a bucket of water. When Illavarasi’s sister returned from the shop, Paneerselvam sent her home in an autorickshaw promising that he would bring home her sister shortly.

As Illavarasi did not turn up for a long time, her aunt rushed to Paneerselvam’s house and found the child dead in the bathroom. On information, the Kumaran Nagar police seized the body and sent it to the Government Royapettah Hospital for post-mortem. After registering a case of unnatural death, the police were on the lookout for Paneerselvam.

Consumes poison

On Wednesday morning, the police got a phone call about the body of a man lying near the 11th Avenue in Kumaran Nagar.

The deceased was identified as Paneerselvam. Inquiries revealed that he had died after consuming poison.

The body was sent to Government Royapettah Hospital for post-mortem.