COIMBATORE: Salem district police arrested a 43-year-old cattle trader in connection with the murder of a woman on Thursday. The police said the arrested person was her neighbour, who allegedly attempted to sexually assault her and killed her when she was home alone on Wednesday. The suspect was identified as A Kaveri (43), a cattle trader from Kaligoundenpalayam near Konganapuram in Salem district.
Inspector Dhanalakshmi said, "The deceased M Chinnaponnu (46) was the wife of Mathaiyan, a cattle trader from the same village. Her husband and son used to go to the weekly cattle market in the nearby district for trade. On Tuesday, they had been to Paramathi in Namakkal district. When Chinnaponnu and her brother-in-law were home alone, Kaveri took the brother-in-law to an isolated place and offered him liquor."
She further said, "After abandoning him there, he returned to the house and attempted to sexually assault Chinnaponnu. When she resisted his advances, he allegedly strangulated her to death. Leaving the body there, he managed to escape from the crime scene. On Wednesday morning, when Mathaiyan found her lying on the floor, he took her to Edappadi Government Hospital, where she was declared dead. Noticing wounds on her body, he approached Konganapuram police, who began an investigation and arrested the suspect by night."
Police traced the murderer through a routine investigation of the surroundings and noticed his absence. They also saw CCTV footage in which the suspect took the brother-in-law to offer liquor at night. Kaveri was remanded to prison on Thursday, said police.