“The accused, Rakesh and Revathi, were tempted upon seeing the 15-sovereign chain the deceased Kalaivani was wearing and decided to rob her in the spur of the moment. Around 11 am, Rakesh attacked Kalaivani with a rod and then the couple tied her limbs before removing the jewels she was wearing. Later, they searched the cupboards and swindled whatever they could and left the building within an hour. They informed the neighbours that they had to rush as one of their relatives died,” said Assistant Commissioner Arul Santhosa Muthu. 

The couple boarded an autorickshaw to Poonamallee and shifted to a bus to reach Bengaluru to reach the house of Rakesh’s grandmother. The police traced them after questioning Rakesh’s relatives and nabbed the couple on Sunday night. About 25 sovereigns were seized from them. 

The police said Revathi of Ranipet married Rakesh after the demise of her first husband. “Rakesh worked as a painter in the building owned by Kalaivani’s husband Ravi, who runs a chit fund firm in Sowcarpet. Rakesh requested Ravi to give a job, after which he appointed Rakesh as a watch man and made watchman Revathi stay in a room on the ground floor along with their two children. Since Kalaivani’s regular maid took leave on Saturday, Kalaivani asked Rakesh and Revathi to help her clean the house since her son was about to arrive from Pune,” said an official. 

Rakesh and Revathi would be remanded in judicial custody and the children would be sent to an observation home.