VIRUDHUNAGAR : A man, who allegedly abducted his wife from her parent’s house in Srivilliputhur, was arrested along with two others for murdering a car driver, on Friday.
On Wednesday, the three accused, including one Muhammad Asarudeen of Nagapattinam, approached the victim Murugan (68) at Madurai junction and asked for a ride to the Irukkangudi Mariamman Temple near Sattur, assuring that they would return the same night.
However, since Murugan did not return on Thursday morning and the car owner, Palpandi, could not reach him on call, the latter lodged a complaint in Madurai.
Meanwhile, the Srivilliputhur Town police found a body with injuries to the face in Athikulam. “Since the locals could not identify the body, photos were circulated on social media. After a while, we received a call from Madurai identifying the body as that of Murugan’s,” police said.
Murugan’s family, however, refused to accept the body until the accused involved in his death were arrested.
On Wednesday night, S Rukshana Parveen (45), a resident of Ashok Nagar filed a complaint against Asarudeen, her son-in-law, alleging that the latter had abducted her daughter Seerabanu in a car. “Seerabanu and Asarudeen got married six months ago. After a dispute between them, my daughter has been living with me for a month,” Rukshana stated in her complaint.
During the investigation, police suspected that the accused involved in Murugan’s murder and Seerabanu’s abduction were the same. “After a probe, our prediction was proven right and we subsequently launched an effort to nab the accused,” police said.
The three accused and Seerabanu were secured on Friday. “Further investigation is underway to ascertain the reason for the abduction as well as the murder,” the police said.
It may be noted that Asarudeen was also involved in a theft case and was released on bail last week.