KRISHNAGIRI: A 21-year-old woman visiting her parents for Ugadi and Tamil New Year was shot dead by her drunk father during a family dispute near Thally in Krishnagiri district on Wednesday night.
She was three months pregnant. Police have launched a search for the accused who went into hiding right after the shooting.
The Thally police identified the deceased as A Venkatalakshmi, of Varathegoundanthotty village.
“She got married recently and lived with her husband Seena, 27, at Malur in Karnataka. The newly-weds came to Thally on Tuesday to celebrate the new year with her parents.”
On Wednesday evening, a police officer said, the woman’s father Arunachalam consumed alcohol.
Her mother Maadevi, 54, scolded him for consuming liquor when their daughter and son-in-law were visiting. Subsequently, the two got into a heated argument.
“Suddenly, Arunachalam brought out a country-made gun from his room to shoot his wife and Venkatalakshmi tried to grab the weapon,” said Sangeetha, deputy superintendent of police (DSP), Denkanikottai division.
“But Arunachalam pulled the trigger with an intention to shoot his wife. Venkatalakshmi stepped into the pellets’ path in a bid to save her mother, and was shot in the chest.”
Hearing the gunshot, neighbours rushed to the spot and found Venkatalakshmi in a pool of blood. They rushed her to the primary health centre at Anchetty, where doctors declared her brought dead.
The DSP said Arunachalam had managed to escape from the house after the murder. “We have registered a case and initiated the inquiry. A search is on for the accused.”