The brutal incident that took place in the early hours of the 11th at the Devadhanam Nachadai Thavirtharuliya Saami Temple near Rajapalayam has sent shockwaves across Tamil Nadu. Mysterious individuals who attempted to break open the temple donation box and commit robbery, brutally hacked to death the night guards—Pechimuthu (50) and Sankarapandian (60)—when they tried to stop them.
Morning-shift guard Madasamy, who arrived for duty, was horrified to find his fellow guards lying in a pool of blood. He immediately alerted the police. Based on the information, Inspector Ramesh Kannan of the Sethur Rural Police Station and his team rushed to the spot.
Following this, DSP Pasina, Virudhunagar District SP Kannan, and Madurai DIG Abhinav Kumar visited the crime scene and conducted inquiries. Sniffer dog Aadhan, fingerprint experts, and several specialized units were also involved in collecting evidence. The bodies were sent to Rajapalayam Government Hospital for post-mortem examination.
Police formed six special teams and began a multi-angle, intensive investigation. During this, Nagaraj from the Devadhanam area was apprehended on suspicion. During interrogation, he confessed to the crime and said he would show the police the items he had hidden.
Inspector Ramesh Kannan and his team took him to the forest area near the Anjaneyar Temple, where he had claimed to have hidden the items. Suddenly, Nagaraj pulled out a billhook he had concealed and attacked SI Kottiyappasamy. As he attempted to attack others as well, Inspector Ramesh Kannan fired at Nagaraj below the knee in self-defense. Both SI Kottiyappasamy and Nagaraj were immediately taken to Rajapalayam Government Hospital for treatment.
Meanwhile, police were searching for Muniyasamy, the main accused who had fled the scene. Based on information that he was hiding in a forested area, search operations intensified with the help of drones and special units. When he tried to escape to another town, police surrounded and arrested him at the Rajapalayam railway station.
Police are continuing their investigation to determine who else may be connected to this case.
