Date:22/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/22/stories/2008112259350300.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Hand of hirelings in Ashok Nagar triple murder suspected

S. Vijay Kumar

Police looking at property angle more closely

“It was an assault with a clear intention to kill”

CHENNAI: The triple murder that sent shock waves among residents in the Ashok Nagar locality here on Thursday is suspected to be the handiwork of professional killers. Though there is no specific clue yet that could probably lead to a breakthrough in the case, police are looking at the property angle more closely as the victim, S. Saravanan, had wealth worth a few crores of rupees.

Quoting medical staff who performed post-mortem on the three bodies at the Government Royapettah Hospital, a police official said the nature of wounds was deep and selective. “It was an assault with a clear intention to kill… the accused seem to have had no inhibitions in chopping a person. They knew where to hit and how. The victims made no noise. It has to be the work of hirelings,” the official said.

Preliminary investigations revealed that Saravanan, who was Chairman and Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Minerals Limited and his wife, S. Kasthuri, retired Under Secretary in the Home Department, had movable and immovable assets in different parts of the city.

Besides the bungalow on the Dr. Natesan Salai in which he, his wife and a domestic help were killed, Saravanan is said to have had a house in Mehta Nagar, plot in Velachery and a big property in north Chennai belonging to a trust managed by him.

“He became the correspondent of a family-run school on the Mambalam Road after a legal battle. There seems to have been misunderstandings about taking share in the property. Since the couple had no issues, they had an adopted son. There was an apprehension among some members in the close relative circle that the property might go to people outside the family,” he added.

Commissioner of Police K. Radhakrishnan said there was no substantial breakthrough in the case. The fingerprints and footprints lifted from the scene of crime by forensic experts were being verified with those of habitual offenders, police sources added.