TIRUVANNAMALAI: A 39-year-old auto driver, his mother and a friend were booked for murder and arrested by the Tiruvannamalai town police on Monday after they allegedly strangled the driver’s wife to death with her dupatta, dismembered the body into eight pieces, concealed it in a plastic bag, and dumped it near the Tiruvannamalai-Krishnagiri border.
According to police, S Gopi and G Saranya (29) had been married for 12 years and have two children. The family, residing in T Gopuram Street in Tiruvannamalai town, faced financial troubles as Gopi had huge debt, sources said. Saranya, who was employed at a gift jewellery store, was facing pressure from Gopi due to his frequent demands for cash, which often led to arguments between them, sources added.
According to police, Saranya had gone to her mother’s house at Arasudaiyanpattu in Tiruvannamalai district for Deepavali and returned home on October 31. As she could not reach her daughter even after multiple attempts, Saranya’s mother V Kaveri (40) filed a missing person complaint at the Tiruvannamalai town police station on November 2.
On receiving the complaint, police went in search of Gopi to his residence on Sunday, where they only found his mother, 55-year-old Sivakami. Upon inquiry, she revealed that Saranya’s body was disposed of by her son and his friend R Vijayaraghavan (44). Later in the day, police nabbed Gopi who led them to the spot where he had dumped his wife’s body on the Krishnagiri border.
On Monday, all three accused were arrested by Tiruvannamalai Town police.
During interrogation, Gopi confessed that after Saranya had returned, they had an argument, following which he killed her with his mother’s help. Later, they chopped her body and with the help of his friend disposed it.
An FIR was lodged against all three under Sections 103(1) (murder) and 238 (destroying evidence and shielding an offender) of BNS. They have been remanded in judicial custody.