CHENNAI: An assistant professor disguised himself as a beggar and attempted to murder his wife in Egmore on Thursday evening. The arrested accused is M Kumaraswamy (56). He was arrested based on a complaint from his wife Jeyavani (38).
According to the police, Kumaraswamy works as an assistant professor in the history department of Nandanam Arts College for Men. His wife K Jeyavani works in a private engineering college, the police said. The couple has two sons and a daughter. They married about 12 years ago and lived in Egmore near Pantheon Road.
On Thursday at around 7 pm, Jeyavani got down from an MTC bus at the Egmore bus stop and was walking house. When she was crossing the Anglo-Indian Quarters Road, a beggar ran towards her and attacked her with a blade.
The assailant was Kumaraswamy.
“Kumaraswamy attempted to cut her face, but she covered it with her hands and ran. Kumaraswamy chased her and slashed her several more times before the stunned onlookers could react. He then fled the spot,” said a police officer.
Jeyavani was rushed to a nearby private hospital for treatment. Based on her complaint, Egmore police registered a case and arrested Kumaraswamy in the wee hours of Friday.
After a preliminary investigation, police said, Kumaraswamy had planned to murder his wife and return home. He wanted to stage it as a crime committed by a beggar. The accused suspected Jeyavani’s was having an affair with her colleague and planned to eliminate her, said the police.
“Jeyavani was a student when she got married. Kumaraswamy took care of Jeyavani’s education expenses since he was a family friend of her father. Recently, Kumaraswamy began suspecting her fidelity since the woman was much younger,” said the police officer quoting his confession statement. Kumaraswamy was booked for attempt to murder and sections of the Women Harassment Act.