Gang murders ex-Tirunelveli mayor, hubby, domestic help

MADURAI: Uma Maheshwari, the first mayor of Tirunelveli municipal corporation, her husband Murugasankaran and their domestic help Mari were murdered by an unidentified gang at their house in Tirunelveli city on Tuesday. Though the murder is suspected to have taken place between noon and 1pm, it came to light only around 5.30pm when their son-in-law Lal Bahadur went to the house.
The 65-year-old woman took over as mayor when Tirunelveli was upgraded from municipality to a corporation in 1996. She was in office till 2001 and had contested unsuccessfully from Sankarankovil assembly seat in 2011. Police have picked up Maheshwari’s nephew for questioning. Murugasankaran, 72, is a retired highways engineer. They resided in a bungalow near the government engineering college on Reddiarpatti-Melapalayam road.
They had three children including two married daughters, Karthika and Priya. Their son Saravanan had died in an accident a few years ago. Karthika resided in a house close by with her husband Lal Bahadur and used to visit her parents often.
Around 5.30 pm, Lal Bahadur was surprised to see the main door of the house open and sensed an uneasy calm. As he went in, he was shocked to see his in-laws and the maid brutally murdered with blood all over the floor in three different rooms. “We suspect that the murder could have taken place by noon or early afternoon as the vegetables cut for cooking were scattered. The condition of the bodies also suggested that the murder took place about five hours before they were noticed,” deputy commissioner of police (law and order) A Saravanan said.
“The accused used a sharp weapon and a blunt weapon like a metal rod for the murder as the victims have cut injuries and suffered beatings as well,” the deputy commissioner said. It is suspected that the accused could have first attacked Uma Maheshwari and her husband and the servant would have tried to protect them when she also came under attack. Tirunelveli city police commissioner N Baskaran, who also visited the spot and conducted preliminary inquiries, told TOI that three special teams have been formed to nab the accused. Ruling out the possibility of political motive behind the murder, the commissioner said that it looked like a case of murder for gain as the gold chain, bangles and other jewellery worn by Uma Maheshwari were missing.
The criminals had also searched the almirahs in the house. “A case has been registered under Sections 302 (punishment for murder) and 398 (attempt to commit robbery or dacoity when armed with deadly weapon) of the Indian Penal Code,” he said. Fingerprint experts have been pressed into service for scientific investigation. The police sniffer dog ran till Melapalayam Road junction and stopped.
“We have got some clues and are proceeding in that direction” Baskaran said adding that there is no CCTV camera in the house. They were in the process of retrieving footage from CCTV cameras in the neighbourhood. It is suspected that about 20 sovereigns of gold jewellery had gone missing.
The bodies were sent to Tirunelveli Government Medical College and Hospital where autopsy will be performed on Wednesday. Probe is also under way to check if the murder was due to any property dispute or enmity. Mari, a widow, was a mother of three and resided in Teacher’s Colony close to the house. DMK functionaries including Alangulam MLA Poongothai Aladi Aruna and party cadres thronged Uma Maheshwari’s house in large numbers and expressed their grief. Relatives of the victims were inconsolable over the brutal murder. Police personnel were deployed in large numbers in and around the place.