Chennai triple murder: man accused of sexually assaulting prime suspect, ends life – The Hindu

A 45-year-old man, on Tuesday ended his life, after the city police summoned him for an enquiry in connection with charges of sexual assault levelled against him by the prime accused in the Sowcarpet triple murder case.

The victim has been identified as Vijaykumar, 45, a nephew of Dileep Thalil Chand, a financier in Sowcarpet who was gunned down by a gang led by his daughter-in-law Jayamala on November 11.

Police sources said Jayamala reportedly had accused her father-in-law Dileep Thalil Chand and his nephew Vijaykumar of sexually harassing her. The repeated harassment from them drove her to leave the home and later, she lived in Pune. As the family refused to meet her demands for compensation and filed a criminal case against her, she, accompanied by her two brothers and three more associates, shot Dileep Thalil Chand, his wife and his son at their house, police said.

Vijaykumar was summoned by a special team of police personnel to the Elephant Gate Station, where police have been investigating the triple murder case. On Tuesday morning, he ended his life at his apartment in R.K. Nagar. His body was recovered by police and further investigations are on.

On November 11 , Dileep Thalil Chand, 74, who ran a finance firm and his wife Pushpa Bhai, 68, and their son, Shithal Kumar, 42, natives of Rajasthan, were found dead in their house on Vinayaga Maestri Street in Sowcarpet. Police said they were shot at point blank range by the gang of suspects including a woman, who was their daughter-in-law, Jayamala. The family had an ongoing marital dispute with Jayamala who was from Pune. Jayamala had married Shithal Kumar, said to be of unsound mind, 10 years ago. The family had reportedly harassed Jayamala mentally and physically for a long time. After murdering them, the attackers escaped in two cars.

Two days later after travelling 800 km, a special team arrested three suspects — Kalaish, 32, a brother of the prime accused Jayamala and associates — Ravindranath Kher, 25, of Kolkata and Vijay Uttham Kamal, 28, of Pune in Solapur, Maharashtra. Kailash and another confessed to having shot the trio as Jayamala was continuously physically and mentally harassed by the members of the family. Last week, another special team which was searching for three more accused nabbed Jayamala, her brother Vikash and his associate Raju Shinde at a hideout near Agra. On Monday, police arrested Raju Dubey an ex-serviceman from Jaipur who allegedly supplied his licensed revolver and his car.

“Jayamala and others have been in judicial custody and will be taken into our custody. Further interrogations will be conducted soon,” said a senior police officer.

(Those in distress may contact State’s health helpline 104 or Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050 for counselling)