An elderly couple was allegedly murdered at their residence in Erode district of Tamil Nadu, police said on Friday.
A detailed investigation is underway but prima facie it appears to be a case of robbery as around 10 sovereign gold jewellery were found missing from the house, the police added.
The victims were identified as Ramaswamy (75) and his wife Bhakiyammal (65). The couple lives alone while their children live elsewhere.
The incident at Sivagiri on Thursday came to light after repeated calls to the couple by their son went unanswered. The bodies of the man and woman were found with stab injuries.
"An investigation is underway. CCTV footage are being scanned. Eight special teams have been formed to crack the case," district Superintendent of Police (SP) Sujatha told NDTV.
The murder triggered a political row as All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) General Secretary and Leader of Opposition Edappadi Palaniswami hit out at the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government over its alleged failure to maintain law and order.
Listing similar cases of murder involving the elderly, Mr Palaniswami said: "Is this law and order?"
Mr Palaniswamy's ally and Bharatiya Janata Party leader K Annamalai also alleged the state government had failed to keep a check and bring down the rate of such crimes.
Pattali Makkal Katchi leader Anbumani Ramadoss said police are yet to make any arrests in a triple murder case in adjoining Tiruppur district in November. "There is fear among the people," he said.
There was no immediate comment from DMK but Chief Minister MK Stalin recently said a peaceful situation exists in the state.
The Tamil Nadu police claimed there was a decline in murders since 2021. In 2019, the state recorded a maximum of 1,745 murders but the figure came down to 1,563 last year, it said.
With the assembly elections due to be held in a year, the Opposition is likely to make law and order a key poll issue.
(With inputs from Deepthi Joseph)
