MADURAI : The Madurai district police on Friday arrested two persons in connection with the recent murder of a 70-year-old woman, which was initially suspected to be a murder-for-gain case, but was later found to have been committed to keep an extra-marital affair under the wraps. The accused were identified as P Sudha (44), daughter-in-law of the deceased T Kasammal, and one Bakyaraj (34) of Palkalai Nagar in Madurai.
According to police, the incident came to light on July 9, when Kasammal was found dead with cut injuries inside her house in Madurai and around 53 sovereigns of gold jewellery were stolen. Initially, the Sindhupatti police registered a case under sections 103 (1), 331 (4) and 305 (murder and theft) of BNS, upon suspecting murder-for-gain.
Subsequently, multiple police teams were formed to investigate the case in different angles, as per the instructions of Superintendent of Police BK Arvind, and it was learnt that the deceased's daughter-in-law Sudha was involved in an extra-marital affair with Bakyaraj, sources said.
As Kasammal warned the couple to end their affair, they murdered the elderly woman and later projected the crime as murder-for-gain to divert the case. The accused persons were lodged in Madurai Central Prison after being produced before the court, sources said. Meanwhile, SP Arvind appreciated the police team for cracking the week-old murder case.