Chennai double murder: Sweet people, cry victims' neighbours and colleagues

Chennai: The murdered duo, Thenmozhi and her mother Vasantha, acted most benevolently during the December floods. They were known for being considerate towards their neighbours in the nondescript residential area of Pesil Garden in Rendam Kattalai, in Kundrathur.

“Thenmozhi was an inspiring and a dedicated teacher who was a friend to all students, teachers and parents. The whole school fraternity is shocked and saddened by this horrific incident. We pay tribute to her memory and pray for her soul to rest in peace,” said Sharmila Mohan, Principal, St Francis International School.

Thenmozhi with her husband.

A neighbour recalled that Vasantha’s family fed flood victims, including the juveniles who generally run errands in the neighbourhood for tips. “She would pay more than what the boys demanded. She was so gracious. She would advice them to spend it wisely. She earned the love of the boys. And this is why you see all these boys here with long faces”, he observed.

“The family purchased moved into their portion of the duplex house four years ago. Her husband is an engineer based in Yemen”, she added.

When this correspondent was talking to another neighbour, the woman requested the boys to get water somewhere else since she would not be able to make repeated trips to the kitchen considering the number of youths seeking water from her. The boys pointed out that the deceased sexagenarian was never reluctant to give them water.

“She would not stop with water. She would give us savouries, and even feed us at times”, said Dinesh, who cleaned the water tank at Vasantha’s house a couple of weeks ago.

The little one of Thenmozhi.

“I asked her for Rs 200, but she gave Rs 400 to me”, Dinesh said, while he was waiting with other boys to get a glimpse of Gunashree (6-month-old survivor who did not suffer any injuries), who had been put to sleep at a house in the neighbourhood.

“She never scolded us for playing cricket. Whenever the ball strayed into her house, she would always encourage us to play and she would allow us to collect the ball ourselves from the compound. She was so kind”, he recalled.

Servant maid confesses to crime, paramour on run

Chennai: The servant maid confessed to the crime soon and also revealed the involvement of her paramour Jayakumar and her neighbour Doulat Bhegum, who was also picked up by the police.

Efforts are on to locate Jayakumar. Preliminary investigations suggest that the all-women family had been noted as an easy target by the trio when Jayakumar came up with the plan of robbing so they could settle down once for all in life rather than slogging out for monthly salaries.

Sathya knew that Thenmozhi’s husband was working abroad and also where the family kept their money and jewels at home.

On Monday evening, the gang had reportedly been warmly received by Vasantha who offered them refreshments, including fruits.

The gang prolonged their visit since they wanted to eliminate the teacher, her mother and her elder daughter and so waited till Thenmozhi returned from school.