TN police arrest gang of 3 men for Erode double murder, Tiruppur triple killings
The police found that the same gang was also linked to a similar triple murder late last year in adjoining Tiruppur district.
The Tamil Nadu police on Monday arrested a gang of three men for the murder of an elderly couple that lived in a rural area of Erode district, officials said. However, during the course of investigation, they found a pattern in the killings.
While the three have been arrested for the double murder a fortnight ago, wherein they allegedly also stole gold from the couple, the police found that the same gang was also linked to a similar triple murder late last year in adjoining Tiruppur district.
In November 2024, an elderly couple and their son were found dead inside a farmhouse in Tiruppur’s Palladam, with gold missing even in that case. Since there was no breakthrough in nabbing the accused, the case was transferred to the CB-CID in March.
Later, the probe found that the gang targetted elderly couples who were living alone.
The police first caught P Achiappan (48) on May 17, who confessed to the crimes of murder and burglary, leading to the arrest of N Madeshwaran (53) and R Ramesh (52). Following investigation, the trio, who are locals engaged in coconut trade, were arrested on Monday.
The police had formed 12 special teams after the Erode double murder came to light on May 1, three days after the crime was committed on April 28. The victims in the case were identified as Ramasamy (75) and his wife Bakkiyammal (65).
“They attacked the couple using wooden sticks,” west zone inspector general of police T Senthilkumar told reporters. “We have seized 82 grams of melted gold jewellery. The accused got it melted with the help of a goldsmith named Gnanasekaer, who has also been arrested.”
The officer said the trio also confessed to last year’s triple murder. On November 29, 2024, a local barber who had gone for a job to a farmhouse found Deivasigamani (78), his wife Alamelu (75) and their son Senthil Kumar lying in a pool of blood. The son, who lived in the nearby Coimbatore district, had come to meet his parents the previous night.
“Their involvement in other cases will be confirmed after further investigation,” the IG said, adding that the trio had previously been booked for cases of theft.
The four accused were remanded to judicial custody on Monday.
