Forest Department staff, wife shot dead

KANYAKUMARI: In a shocking incident, a Forest Department staff and his wife were shot dead by an unidentified assailant while they were returning home on a two-wheeler on the Akkarai-Theirur Road in Kanyakumari district on Thursday evening. The victims Arumugam (50), an office assistant in the Forest Department and his wife Eswari (45) were felled by bullets sprayed from a close range. According to police, while four bullets pierced through Arumugam’s body, his wife sustained two bullet injuries. “This appears to be the handiwork of a professional hired killer,” a senior police officer said. Arumugam was deployed at the Forest Check Post near Aralvaimozhi, a major smuggling point for timber, police said. Police said they believed that the assailant could be an acquaintance of the deceased Arumugam. Passengers of a passing bus had noticed the couple lying in a pool of blood in the middle of the Akkarai-Therur Road and informed the police. The bodies of the two were taken to the Aasaripallam GH. Police suspect that the murderer could have tracked Arumugam’s movements for a few days before striking on Thursday evening.