Express News Service By

TIRUCHY: In a gruesome incident, a couple was found murdered and their one-and-an-half year old girl child injured with an axe, inside their hut at Senthurai taluk in Ariyalur district in the wee hours of Friday.

The baby is now in JIPMER hospital in Puducherry and its condition is reported to be critical.

The police identified the baby’s slain dad as P Velmurugan (37), a native of Senthamangalam village in Senthurai taluk. He was a sub-contractor in a private cement factory in Thalavai and also operated a tractor for hire for contract work.

It was tractor driver Vijayakanth who first found the couple dead when he went to their house to collect the tractor key. Both Velmurugan and his wife V Parvathi (27) had deep cut injuries on their heads. Their child V Keerthana was unconscious with cut injuries on her head as well.

The assailants had used an axe Velmurugan had in his house to cut wood, to attack all three of the family, the police said.

Four other members of the family fortunately escaped, as they were away. Since there was heavy rain, which left no space to sleep in their small thatched hut on Friday night, Velmurugan’s two other elder daughters and parents had gone to their relative’s house in Thalavai, the police added.

On noticing the double murder, Vijaykanth informed Velmurugan’s parents and alerted the Thalavai police who rushed to the spot and conducted an inquiry. Sniffer dog and forensic department personnel were also pressed into action to trace the killers. Ziaul Haque, Superintendent of Police, too visited the spot.

When contacted, officials in Haque’s office said, a special team has been formed to track the murderers. A senior police official suspected professional rivalry in acquiring contract from the cement factory as the possible motive for the double murder.