Youths murder, rob friend’s mother to pay off call girl

TOI

Chennai, 02 Jul 2012: Hooked to booze and women, two young men murdered their friend’s mother to steal gold and cash from her house in New Washermenpet on Tuesday night to pay off a call girl.

 

Police arrested P Suresh, 26, and V Sathish, 22, on Wednesday for the murder of 46-year-old Gnanasoundari. Investigators said they had made two abortive attempts to kill her earlier.

 

As luck would have it, the circumstances were in their favour on the third attempt. Gnanasoundari was alone in her house on 7th Lane, G A Road, New Washermenpet, when there was a blackout in the area.

 

Gnanasoundari’s husband Baskar, a rice merchant, had dropped off his wife at home at 7pm after taking her to a dentist, when the killers knocked on her door. Since Suresh was her son Dinesh Kumar’s friend, Gnanasoundari, normally cautious, opened the door without hesitation. They strangled her with a skipping rope as she walked to the refrigerator to fetch them water. The killers ransacked the house, broke open a cupboard and made away with 45 sovereigns of gold jewellery and 15 lakh in cash. They disposed the rope in a deserted area in Kasimedu.

 

They had previously made two unsuccessful attempts to kill her.

 

Suresh, a resident of Grace Garden Main Road, and Sathish, of Thyagarayapuram, got drunk at a Tasmac shop after committing the crime. They bragged to their friends about what they had done and one of the friends tipped off the police.

 

Investigators said Suresh and Sathish kept the money they had looted from the house and gave the jewellery to a woman Fathima, 35, of Thiruvottiyur, with whom they had a relationship. "During interrogation, they confessed that they killed Gnanasoundari to indulge Fathima," an investigating officer said. "Suresh, a loadman, and Sathish spent huge sums of money on women."

 

Additional commissioner of police P Thamaraikannan told reporters that Gnanasoundari’s family members said she always looked through a peephole before opening the door and did not let in strangers. "We made a list of frequent visitors to the house and questioned them individually," he said. "We are also investigating if the woman’s son, Dinesh Kumar, was involved in the crime and if the accused were involved in other offences."

 

Fathima, who helped the killers stash away the jewellery, is also likely to be included as an accused in the case.

 

"Suresh was Dinesh’s friend since his school days. They were always together and Dinesh spent money lavishly on Suresh," Dinesh’s uncle V Vijayakumar said. "Even though the family was not happy with Dinesh being friends with Suresh and Sathish, she gave them food whenever they visited."

 

Gnanasoundari’s husband Baskar, a rice merchant, found her body in the dining hall when he returned home at 9.40 pm. Baskar had dropped off his wife at home at 7pm after taking her to a dentist.