The murder of 52-year-old NRI woman was cracked and a construction worker was arrested in connection with the case.
According to police sources, Susila Bai, who was residing in Saudi Arabia with her husband Ramasamy, had come down to Puducherry to attend the funeral of her relative one month ago.
She had stayed at her house in Natesan Nagar as she wanted to renovate and rent it out. On February 17, Susila Bai was found strangled at her residence. It had become a difficult task for the police to find the culprit as there was hardly any clue.
The Senior Superintendent of Police (Law and Order) Omvir Singh Bishnoi told reporters that Balaji (26), son of Annamali and a resident of Muthirayarplayam, was arrested after persistent effort by the police team.
“The accused had committed the crime as he was in dire need of money. After committting the crime, the accused escaped with jewels worth `4 lakh,” added Bishnoi. Further he said that a special team had been formed under the Superintendent of Police (South) T Bairavasamy and inspector Ganesh and sub-inspectors Suresh Babu and S Ramesh. More than 100 people were questioned, including those who approached Susila Bai for getting her renovated house on rent.
The team then centered the investigation around those who worked for renovation of the house and the needle of suspicion fell on Balaji, who could not be reached on his mobile and who was also absconding.
However, the team managed to trace him at Dhanambal Nagar in Muthirayarplayam.
On questioning, Balaji confessed to the crime. The special team recovered the mangal sutra, two bangles, rings and ear studs hidden by the accused beneath a neem tree.
Balaji, a permanent resident of Mariamman Koil Street in Thiruvannamalai district, had been earlier involved in a crime case and had been imprisoned, Bishnoi further added.