Temple Guards Slain in Cold Blood Protecting Hundi at Virudhunagar Shrine

In a barbaric act that has left the entire Virudhunagar district reeling in horror and rage, two devoted night security guards were mercilessly hacked to death with sharp weapons inside the serene premises of Sri Nachadai Thavirthu Aruliaswamy Temple near Rajapalayam in the early hours of Tuesday, their lives snuffed out simply for protecting the temple’s sacred hundi from ruthless robbers.

Pechimuthu, aged 60, and Sankar Pandian, aged 50, both long-serving employees of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, were on regular night duty when the gang struck between midnight and dawn. Their blood-soaked bodies, bearing multiple deep cut wounds on the head, neck, and torso, were discovered around 6 AM by day-shift guard Madasamy, who arrived to relieve them and instead stumbled upon a scene straight out of a nightmare.

The smaller entrance gate of the main gopuram stood forced open, the iron grill twisted apart, and inside the sanctum area the hundi had been brutally smashed with heavy tools in a desperate attempt to steal devotees’ offerings. Police sources confirmed that the guards clearly put up a valiant fight to save the temple’s money, which ultimately cost them their lives as the assailants turned their weapons on the defenseless watchmen in cold-blooded fury.

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As news spread like wildfire, hundreds of grieving relatives, temple devotees, and local residents swarmed the crime scene, blocking roads and refusing to allow the bodies to be moved for postmortem until Chief Minister M K Stalin and top police officials personally assured swift justice. Tension remained electric for hours, with angry crowds demanding immediate arrest of the killers and enhanced night security for all temples across the state.

With forensic teams meticulously collecting blood samples, fingerprints, and tool marks, sniffer dogs tracing the escape route, and police scanning every frame of CCTV footage from the temple and surrounding areas, senior officers have vowed that the culprits will be behind bars before the last rites of the slain guards are performed, as Tamil Nadu wakes up to yet another chilling reminder that even places of worship are no longer safe from the most depraved criminals.

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