A 45-year-old man accused of sexual assaulting a murder accused in Sowcarpet triple murder case died allegedly by suicide on Tuesday. The incident took place after the police summoned him for an enquiry. According to reports, Vijaykumar (45) of Pulianthope was the nephew of the deceased Dileep Thalil Chand of Sowcarpet, who was allegedly shot down by his daughter-in-law and a gang on November 11.

The daughter-in-law Jayamala reportedly told the police that Dileep Thalil Chand and Vijaykumar sexually assaulted her on various occasions. Unable to bear the assault, she moved out of the home and started to reside in Pune. Jayamala started to demand compensation from the family and her in-laws but they filed a criminal case against her. Angered by this, she along with her two brothers and three associates, killed Dileep Thalil Chand, his wife and son, investigation officials said. 

The Elephant Gate Police, who are investigating the triple murder, summoned Vijayakumar for enquiry. However, he died by suicide at his home in RK Nagar. The police recovered his body and sent it for a post-mortem.

The Elephant Gate police on November 11, recovered dead bodies of Dileep Thalil Chand (74), owner of a finance firm, his wife Pushpa Bhai (68) and son Shittal Kumar (42) of Rajasthan at their residence on Vinayaga Maestri Street in Sowcarpet in Chennai. The bodies had bullet injuries and the police suspected that they were shot at point blank range. 

The police zeroed down on the daughter-in-law as the prime suspect. Jayamala and Shittal married ten years ago and she accused the family of allegedly mentally and physically harassing her since then.

Two days after the crime, a special team of police reached Maharashtra and arrested the suspects Jayamala, her brother Kailash and associates Ravindranath Kher and Vijay Uttham Kamal. The gang confessed to shooting the family members. The police continue to search for two more accused and arrested Jayamala's brother Vikash and associate Raju Shinde from their hideout near Agra.