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Youth murders grandparents to steel jewels and money; caught by police

A 22-year-old man and two of his accomplice were arrested by city police for murdering his grandparents at their residence in Ashwath Nagar in HAL on Tuesday.

Police identified the arrested men as Pramod (22) -grandson of the murdered couple- his associates Praveen (20) and Hassan Pasha (20).

Govindan (65), a retired BEL employee, and his wife Sarjomma (60) were found murdered on November 28 after neighbours complained of LPG gas leak from their house. The couple were beaten and stabbed to death on November 26.

The couple’s daughter Usha, also the killer’s mother, lives in the same compound and went down to check about the gas leak complaints. She found the rear door of the house open and few of her parents’ clothes burnt.

Usha ran out of the house screaming having seen her parents’ bodies and blood stains. Neighbours then called the police. Both the victims were tied with clothes and their faces had been covered, police said.

Police later picked up Pramod on Tuesday night. Based on information he provided, they arrested Praveen Wednesday morning. They had to shoot the third accused Pasha on the leg when he tried to launch an escape bid by attacking the police constable.

Police sub-inspector Prashila shot Pasha to defend herself and members of her team before arresting him.

Police said Pramod had been involved in house break thefts, while Praveen worked for a vehicle servicing station. Pasha was a bike thief.

The couple was slaughtered between 3.00 pm to 5.00 pm, police said. Usha –a staff nurse at a private hospital- had been living in the same compound as her parents for the past four years.

Police suspect the murder to be for gains. On Sunday, Pramod entered his grandparents’ home and unlatched the rear door to let Praveen and Pasha inside.

Pasha, the ruthless among the three, hit Sarjomma’s head with an iron club. When Govindan rushed into the kitchen hearing his wife’s screams, the accused struck him with the same club and stabbed him multiple times.

The trio made off with 300 grams of gold ornaments and Rs 50,000 in cash. Police later recovered the ornaments though they had spent some of the money. "We’re probing more angles," city police commissioner T Suneel Kumar said.

He said police would take Usha’s statement to determine if she was involved in the crime directly or indirectly. Kumar lauded the cops for cracking the case within hours after the murders were discovered.

Usha told the police that her parents were planning to leave for Om Shakthi temple in Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu) on Sunday afternoon. The silent house did not raise any suspicions as she expected the elderly couple to return on Tuesday.

The couple also had two sons besides Usha. One of them had died and his wife and children live in Mysuru. The second son, who had hearing and speech impairments, lives separately in the city with wife and children.

Usha told the police that her father was embroiled in property disputes and there had been a few unnatural deaths in the family. While a family member hung himself by a telephone cord, another died in road accident. Usha told the police that her father Govindan owned several properties.