Courts in Tamil Nadu’s South Zone recorded convictions in 17 murder cases in September. Forty-six of the 50 people convicted in those cases received life sentences, police said.
Thoothukudi district recorded the largest number of murder-case convictions, with five. Inspector General of Police (South Zone) Vijayendra Bidari said courts also convicted six people in two robbery cases and two cases involving serious theft or burglary.
In cases involving crimes against women and children, including offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, courts recorded 26 convictions involving 34 accused. The sentences included one death sentence, two sentences of double life or more, and 11 prison terms of at least 20 years. Fifteen of those convicted in murder and POCSO cases were identified by police as hardened repeat offenders.
Bidari credited the results to the Case Officer Scheme, under which district Superintendents of Police personally selected serious cases for close supervision. He said the oversight helped ensure timely service of witness summonses and coordination with prosecutors.
During September, police also began proceedings to require security bonds from 6,248 people considered likely to breach the peace and 11,185 habitual offenders. They sought cancellation of bail for 955 repeat offenders, executed 19,488 non-bailable warrants and preventively detained 755 people under the Goondas Act. Police also secured convictions in 1,010 cases under the NDPS Act through close trial monitoring.
The region recorded 352 murders by September 30, 2026. Full-year totals were 469 in 2021, 526 in 2022, 497 in 2023, 470 in 2024 and 471 in 2025. The 2026 figure covers only the year to date and is not directly comparable with those full-year totals.
Among September’s verdicts, a Madurai court sentenced a man to life for the 2018 murder of his brother-in-law in Usilampatti over a housing dispute. A woman received a life sentence for a 2024 murder in Alanganallur involving a hot-water attack. In Virudhunagar district, courts imposed life terms in a fatal assault on a wife in Watrap and a 2019 land-dispute murder in Keela Paralachi. In Dindigul, six people were sentenced to life for a 2019 killing connected to a fake Nagamani stone fraud.
Courts in Theni, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Kanniyakumari also issued lengthy prison terms and life sentences in cases involving personal disputes, land conflicts and gang rivalries. In a separate juvenile case, the Madurai Juvenile Justice Board ordered three years’ detention for a 2016 murder-for-gain case linked to a government laptop. Bidari urged residents to rely on verified information and avoid sensational social-media claims.