3 miscreants assault school correspondent, family in Karur; flee with 40 sovereign gold, Rs 7 lakh

TIRUCHY: A three-member unidentified gang barged into the house of a school correspondent in Karur in the wee hours of Monday, assaulted inmates, tied them, and escaped with 40 sovereign gold jewellery, Rs 7 lakh in cash, and three mobile phones.

Karunanidhi (70), a retired principal of Arignar Anna Government Arts College, Musiri, and his wife Savithri (65), a retired Government School teacher, are currently residing in Cauvery Nagar near Kulithalai in Karur district, according to the police. They have been running matriculation and CBSE schools in Kulithalai and Namakkal, the police said, adding that their daughter Aparna was also staying with them.

The incident occurred on Monday at around 3 am. The gang arrived in a car, and they barged into Karunanidhi’s house and started assaulting the inmates with lethal weapons, according to the police. Before they could raise the alarm, the gang tied their hands and legs and entered a room. They looted 40 sovereign gold jewellery, Rs 7 lakh in cash, and three mobile phones and fled by car, the police said. While fleeing, the gang missed one of the mobile phones along the Kulithalai-Manapparai highway, the police noted.

On hearing the screams, the neighbours ran to rescue them and untied them. They also passed on the information to the Kulithalai police, who rushed to the spot and sent all three to a private hospital for treatment. Karunanidhi and Savithri sustained injuries on their hands, while Aparna sustained head injuries. They were discharged after a few hours.

Based on the information, the Karur SP K Josh Thangiah and the Kulithalai DSP Senthil Kumar rushed to the spot and conducted an inquiry, while the sniffer dog Lucky was also brought to the crime scene. The fingerprint experts also conducted an investigation. The police have registered a case and perused the CCTV footage from the locality. A search is under way for the gang.