The recent murder of a young Malaysian woman and her two children in South India was linked to revenge arising out of a long drawn-out local gang war, Tamil Nadu police investigations have revealed.

This follows the arrest of six men and three women whom the police believe could shed light on the killings of M Adhila Banu and the children.

However, the alleged mastermind behind the killings ducked the police dragnet and fled to Malaysia before probably slipping into Singapore, Vadipatti police inspector PR Lakshmanan said today.

He said the man owned a mutton shop and operated a food stall in Kuala Lumpur.

"(Our investigations have revealed that) It is purely revenge. We have detained most of the people involved in the murders but the mastermind has escaped," he told Bernama.

A two-week relentless police probe has revealed that Adhila Banu's family rivals in Madurai, South India, were linked to the murders after she had vowed to avenge those who had attacked her husband in Kuala Lumpur, some years ago.

Lakshmanan said the alleged mastermind had assaulted the husband, Muthusamy Mohammad, in Kuala Lumpur where they were previously working.

He said that upon receiving the news that Adhila Banu was planning to seek revenge (with the help of relatives in India), the mastermind decided to kill the woman and the children, Mohd Aslam, seven, and daughter, Ajira Banu, five.

Bodies dug up by gang members

The victims were lured from their home in Barathi Nagar in Ramanathapuram district on Nov 8, and were believed to have been murdered that night.

"She was strangled with her 'dupatta' (shawl) and pillow, and her children were suffocated with pillows. They were buried in a coconut field which belonged to the mastermind," added Lakshmanan.

Stoked by fear and internal dispute, the gang was forced to dig up the bodies and dispose them further from the crime scene.

Gang members then decided to dump the three bodies in Kodaikanal, a hilly holiday resort, but their plans fizzled when the bodies began to decompose.

"They panicked and dumped the bodies in a canal in Vadipatti area and fled. We have finished our local investigations and will now use diplomatic means to bring back the mastermind," said Lakshmanan.

On Nov 11, Vadipatti police found the three badly decomposed bodies, wrapped in white dhotis, in a water-filled canal.

- Bernama