Unidentified men murdered popular Tamil actress Vichitra's father and attacked her mother, before escaping with 10 sovereigns of gold jewellery and Rs 10,000 in cash, from the couple's farmhouse near Chennai.

Though the incident took place in the late hours of Monday, it came to light only on Tuesday, when the couple's maid Kasiyammal, who came to work around 8 a.m. found them lying in a pool of blood. She alerted neighbours, who found Williams dead and Vasanthi unconscious.

Vasanthi reportedly told police that her husband lost his life in an effort to thwart the robbers, who attacked him with deadly weapons. “They were below 25 and spoke in Tamil”, she reportedly told the police who are investigating the case.

Vichitra is on her way to Chennai from Pune after being informed about the incident. A case was lodged under IPC Sections 452 (house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide).