A 39-year-old man was arrested by Tirupattur Taluk Police on Saturday for killing an elderly woman in her thatched house at Athiyur village near Tirupattur town last week for money to consume liquor.
The accused has been identified as K. Govindaraj, a wage labourer at Pulikuttai village in Tirupattur. Initial inquiry revealed that he was aware that the victim K. Dhanabakiyam, 90, stays alone in her house.
On September 10, Govindaraj was in Athiyur village to borrow money from his relatives. When he noticed Dhanabakiyam sleeping alone in her house, he switched off the light and smothered her with a pillow. He then stole 1.5 gold sovereign earrings and cash. Later, he pledged the robbed jewels in his village to buy liquor.
The police said that ever since her husband and farmer S. Kamaraj passed away a few years ago, Dhanabakiyam has been living alone. Her youngest daughter, V. Senthamarai, 55 with her family stay opposite her house. Dhanabakiyam used to spend her day with her daughter and grandson Naveen Kumar at their house and returned to her house in the evening.
When she failed to turn up as usual, Senthamarai went to her house. There she found her lying in a pool of blood with injuries on her nose and neck. Hearing her cries, residents and neighbours rushed to the place.
Subsequently, the police, led by Shreya Gupta, Superintendent of Police (Tirupattur), inspected the spot. After checking the CCTV footage along the route, they nabbed Govindaraj from his hideout in his village.
He has been lodged at the sub-jail in Tirupattur. A probe is under way.
Published – September 21, 2024 11:23 pm IST
