Elderly couple robbed, murdered in Erode; Palaniswami condemns DMK government

Elderly couple robbed, murdered in Erode; Palaniswami condemns DMK government

An elderly couple living in a farmhouse was murdered, and 15 sovereigns of gold jewellery were stolen from their home in Vilakethi, near Sivagiri, on Thursday (May 1, 2025).

The deceased were identified as Ramasamy, 75, and Bhakiyammal, 65. Residents of Vilankattuvalasu, they were farmers and lived alone. The couple’s son, who lives in Muthur, had been trying to contact them over the past two days, but his calls went unanswered, raising concern. He then requested a relative to check on them. At around 7 p.m. on Thursday, the relative visited their home and found the couple murdered inside. The police were immediately alerted.

District Superintendent of Police A. Sujatha and Perundurai Deputy Superintendent of Police Gokulakrishnan inspected the crime scene. Relatives confirmed that Bhakiyammal’s chain, earrings, bangles, and other jewellery were missing. Fingerprint experts and a sniffer dog were brought in as part of the investigation. The bodies were sent to the Government Erode Medical College and Hospital for postmortem examination.

The brutal murder has shocked the local community. Inspector General of Police (IGP), West Zone, T. Senthil Kumar, who visited the crime scene, said that eight special teams have been formed to apprehend the perpetrators.

AIADMK general secretary and Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami expressed shock over the crime. In a social media post, he criticised Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, referring to the latter’s recent statement in the State Assembly that law and order in Tamil Nadu was excellent. “Is this what excellent law and order looks like?” he asked.

Mr. Palaniswami pointed out that five elderly couples had been brutally murdered between 2022 and 2025 in Erode and Tiruppur districts, questioning whether such incidents were not a matter of shame for the DMK government. “Are these isolated incidents?” he asked, adding that people were now living in fear and unable to sleep peacefully at night.

Condemning the DMK government, he urged the Chief Minister to fulfil his primary responsibility of maintaining law and order by taking strict action against those responsible for murders and robberies.