Bhargavi, who was speaking on a Tamil television programme about how parents objected to love marriages, said that her father was opposed to such relationships and had murdered a man, his daughter and her boyfriend.

A startling statement by a 17-year-old girl in a TV reality show that her father, A Murugan, had murdered and buried three persons in the backyard of her house in Villupuram was found to be true when a police team on Tuesday exhumed the skeletons from the courtyard of their house.

Bhargavi, who was speaking on a Tamil television programme about how parents objected to love marriages, said that her father was opposed to such relationships and had murdered a man, his daughter and her boyfriend.

Bhargavi and her boyfriend (living together) were on the show along with her parents, Murugan and Rajeswari, of Nallanpillai Petral village, at the channel's studio in Chennai.

During the broadcast Bhargavi had repeatedly refused to leave her boyfriend and go back to her parents' house. When the show hostess pressed her for the reason, the teenager broke down and confessed that her father had killed his daughter, her son-in-law and another man reports The Times of India.

She feared that he would kill her and her boyfriend as well.

According to a report in The Hindu, Bhargavi fell in love with K Satish and moved to his house. Satish's father Kumar brought her back to her parents' place saying she was too young to get married.

Bhargavi's father, Murugan threatened his daughter that he would kill her and Satish if she continued the affair.

To further deter her, her mother Rajeswari told Bhargavi about an incident in 2008 when Murugan had invited his friend Sekar, his daughter Lavanya and her boyfriend Silambarasan home to advise the young lovers against pursuing their romance.

Bhargavi said that her father killed the couple when they showed reluctance in listening to his advice.

The girl's parents were furious when they heard this and refuted the claim. They said they were innocent and left for their village.

The television channel called the police and tried to verify the information. Police officials were despatched to the village and it was discovered that three people actually went missing four years ago. A search of the couples garden later revealed the bodies.

A manhunt is on for Murugan, who has been absconding since the day the show was recorded.