A businessman and his wife were found murdered on Tuesday morning at their home at Thiruvathukkal in Kerala’s Kottayam district.

The victims, identified as Vijayakumar, owner of the Indraprastham Auditorium in Thirunakkara, and his wife Meera, were discovered lying in a pool of blood in two separate rooms in their house, as per police reports, without clothes. The hard disk of the house’s CCTV system was found missing

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The incident came to light at around 8.45 am when their domestic help arrived at home and discovered the bodies. She called the neighbours who immediately informed the police.

A billhook and other weapons were recovered from the scene. Vijaya Kumar is believed to have died from a fatal blow on his head. Superintendent of Kottayam Police Shahul Hameed confirmed that it was a case of murder. “As per the indications, the motive behind the murder is personal rivalry. As of now, we don’t see any evidence of theft from the crime scene,” he said.

The investigation is currently focusing on a migrant worker who was previously employed at the residence. The suspect had reportedly been dismissed by Vijaya Kumar a few months ago due to behavioural issues following a phone theft. Locals mentioned that the dismissal had caused tension. The Police have taken the suspected migrant worker into custody for questioning and are continuing their investigation into the double murder.

Vijayakumar was successful in getting a high court order for a CBI probe into the death of his son, Gautham, two months ago. Gautham’s body was found near the railway track close to the level crossing at Ottakapilmavu railway gate in Kottayam in June 2017. While the police ruled it a case of suicide, Vijayakumar believed that his son would never take his own life .