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How a cook's brutal murder led to death penalty of a Chennai toddy shop owner in 1940
Trigger warning: the following article has references to physical violence and torture. Reader discretion advised.
On Irusappa Gramani Street at Triplicane in Chennai lived Shanmugasundara Gramani, a man who gained notoriety in the area after he allegedly threatened picketers outside his toddy shop with a gun during a protest in 1938. His presence alone was enough to instil fear among locals, as he was infamous for violence both in public and private and was a 'known delinquent' (KD). However, it was for the brutal murder of a cook at his residence that he was arrested and finally executed in 1940.
On May 7, 1939, The Hindu reported that an inquest was held at the General Hospital mortuary on the body of a woman exhumed from the Barbers' Bridge burial ground. The inquest began around 3 p.m. and continued until midnight. According to the report, the body was identified by some domestic workers employed at the residence of Shanmugasundara as that of Narasammal, a co-worker who had gone missing in early April that year.
Medical evidence presented during the inquest revealed broken shoulder blades, a skull fracture, and a broken neck bones. Shanmugasundara and his wife Saradambal were then taken into the custody of the City Crime Branch.
Ill-treatment of workers
Shanmugasundara's household employed several domestic workers, who referred to him as both appa (father) and thambi (younger brother). He was reportedly known to forcibly tattoo his domestic workers, a practice rooted in caste-based domination. The working conditions were harsh; the workers often left after short stints as he was known to beat them for even minor faults.
Narasammal was employed as a cook at a salary of ₹10 per month. She was around 40 years old, and was assisted in the kitchen by another cook named Lakshmi. Narasammal had told the latter that she was from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, and that her husband, who was mentally ill, lived with his sister in Kilpauk.
Eight days after beginning work, Narasammal attempted to quit, citing her inability to stay up late at night and wake up early in the morning. However, Shanmugasundara sent his men to search for her. Within a few hours, one of them brought her back. His wife Saradambal reportedly slapped Narasammal and scolded her, saying, 'Is this why you took ₹10 in advance, just to run away on the eighth day?' She then took back some of the moneyfrom Narasammal. Following this incident, Narasammal remained in service.
The fateful night
Shanmugasundara had a daily routine that included consuming overnight-soaked green gram paste and rice congee (kanji), followed by a hot water bath. On the day following the Aruvathimoovar festival in Mylapore, he found there was no rice kanji left in the house.
Angered by this, he summoned Lakshmi and struck her three times with a cane, demanding to know why she had failed to prepare the kanji. She remained silent out of fear.
He then called for Narasammal, who could not come immediately, as she was occupied with other tasks. When she was brought before him, he beat her with the cane. During the assault, he tripped her, causing her to fall hard onto the brick flooring. She began bleeding from the mouth.
He then ordered her to wash the blood from her face and clothes. Narasammal complied, rinsing herself at a nearby tap, and then went to the backyard to change her clothes.
After finishing his bath, Shanmugasundara instructed a worker named Durgan to bring him unsplit casuarina sticks.
Narasammal's killing
According to witness Lakshmi, she later heard the sound of a severe beating, 'like that of a bullock being beaten.' She also heard cries of 'ayyo'. These cries were coming from the backyard.
Shanmugasundara later instructed Durgan to fetch a rope, one end of which he tied to Narasammal's hair and used it to torture her.
He then ordered the domestic workers to drag her near a window, even as blood was seen oozing from her head. The following day, at around 10.30 a.m., Narasammal began pleading for water. However, nothing was given to her. When Lakshmi attempted to help her, Saradambal told her to mind her own business, claiming that Narasammal was faking her condition.
Around 3 p.m. that day, one of the servants found Narasammal dead, her body covered with a gunny bag. Later that night, around midnight, the body was moved to the backyard, where it remained for four days. The workers attempted to hide traces of the incident by sprinkling ashes over the bloodstains at the spot where she had fallen. However, by the next day, a foul smell began to emanate from near the latrine in the backyard.
The murder came to light two weeks later, when one of the workers visited the home of Shanmugasundara's father-in-law in Chintadripet. A visitor there noticed an injury on the worker's body and asked about it. It was then that the truth about what had occurred in Shanmugasundara's house began to emerge.
The investigation and arrest
Police arrested Shanmugasundara, his wife Saradambal, and Thangavelu, a peon at the Mylapore burial ground. The case was initially heard at the George Town Police Court, which later committed it to the Criminal Sessions of the Madras High Court.
Shanmugasundara was charged with the murder of Narasammal on April 2, 1939. His wife Saradambal was charged with aiding in the disposal of the body by having it packed and removed to the burial ground. Thangavelu was charged with assisting in the illegal removal and burial of the body, with the help of cemetery workers.
According to witness testimony, a corpse wrapped in a gunny bag and sent by Thangavelu, allegedly described as the body of a person affected by leprosy, was buried at night.
Defence's argument
The trial began on January 2, 1940, and concluded on February 7. Justice Mockett presided over the proceedings. Nugent Grant, counsel for Shanmugasundara, argued that the woman Narasammal never existed.
During the trial, it emerged that the prime witness Lakshmi had initially told the police, prior to Shanmugasundara's arrest, that no one named Narasammal had worked in the house and that no murder had occurred. However, after the arrest of the accused, Lakshmi gave a second statement to the police in which she contradicted her earlier account and confirmed the presence and death of Narasammal in the household.
While answering questions from the counsel, Lakshmi deposed that when the police first questioned her about Narasammal's murder, she denied her existence as she was afraid of being beaten by Shanmugasundara.
At the end of the trial, Shanmugasundara was found guilty of murdering Narasammal, and was sentenced to death. The second accused Saradambal was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment for causing the disappearance of evidence related to the murder. The third accused Thangavelu received three years of rigorous imprisonment for the same offence.
Following the verdict, Shanmugasundara submitted a clemency petition to the then Governor. Among the grounds he cited were that public opinion had been prejudiced against him due to the circulation of several pamphlets portraying him as an inhuman and cruel individual. He also claimed that a large family was financially dependent on him and appealed for the death sentence to be commuted.
However, his petition was rejected, and he was hanged in July 1940.
