‘Legs tied, mouth stuffed with clothes’: Arya Vaidya Pharmacy founder’s daughter found dead in Coimbatore

COIMBATORE: Arya Vaidya Pharmacy (AVP) founder Aryavaidyan P V Rama Varier’s 82-year-old daughter was found dead at her residence in a gated community near Nanjundapuram in Coimbatore on Friday. Her gold chain was missing. Police launched a hunt for a Nepalese female domestic worker who went missing. R Kasturi was found dead in her bedroom with her legs tied and mouth stuffed with clothes. She was staying in Parsn Nestle gated community with her son, Dr Ram Kumar Kutty, who is one of the directors of AVP.According to the Coimbatore city police, Ram Kumar was on a trip to Vietnam, leaving his mother at home with domestic worker Surja Rokey, 37, of Nepal who had been employed through an agency four and a half months ago. Kasturi’s daughter used to call her every day. Kasturi did not answer her daughter’s call on Friday morning. The daughter contacted a neighbour and requested them to check on her mother, as the domestic worker also did not answer calls. Around 8.55am, the neighbour entered the house through the backdoor, as the front door was locked, and found Kasturi dead in her bedroom. Surja was not in the house.On being alerted, the Ramanathapuram police rushed to the spot. A sniffer dog was pressed into service, and police collected evidence from the scene. G Karthikeyan, deputy commissioner of police, Coimbatore City (South), reached the spot and inspected the premises. He said eight special teams had been formed for the investigation. The domestic worker’s mobile phone was found near the house. Kasturi's residence in Parsn Nestle gated community “A gold chain of about three sovereigns was missing from Kasturi’s neck, and the details of valuables and cash missing will be known after her son returns,” the DCP said.Sources said CCTV footage showed three men arriving at the deceased’s residence. “Their involvement will be confirmed only after further inquiries,” the DCP said. Police teams have been sent to Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kerala and Chennai to trace the suspects.