CUDDALORE: Two police personnel were arrested in separate cases in Cuddalore district this week on charges of cheating women under the pretext of marriage. One of the cases is linked to the death by suicide of a woman constable, while the other involves allegations of sexual assault.
According to police sources, M Soniya (26), a woman constable from Kongarayanoor village near Nellikuppam, was serving in the Armed Reserve wing of the Tamil Nadu Police at Avadi. On July 1, while on leave, she returned to her native village and allegedly consumed pesticide. She was admitted to JIPMER Hospital in Puducherry but succumbed on Wednesday night.
Following her death, her estranged husband Mugilan (27) lodged a complaint with the Nellikuppam police, alleging that police constable M Raji (28) was responsible. Raji, a native of Karipalayam near Marakkanam in Villupuram district, was posted in the Special Police Force at Avadi.
Mugilan submitted a WhatsApp voice note from Soniya, which has been treated as a dying declaration. Preliminary investigations revealed that Soniya and Mugilan had been living separately for several years. During her service at Avadi, she had developed a relationship with Raji. When she became pregnant and asked him to marry her, he allegedly refused. She later consumed poison.
District Superintendent of Police S Jeyakumar ordered Raji’s arrest. He was picked up from his native village on Thursday evening and brought to Cuddalore for interrogation before being remanded in judicial custody. SP Jeyakumar also visited Soniya’s residence and paid his respects.
In a separate case, K Sampath (28), a member of the Tamil Nadu Special Police Force posted in Ulundurpet, was arrested based on a complaint filed by a 25-year-old woman from Tirunelveli district.
According to the complainant, she had developed a relationship with Sampath when he was on duty in Tirunelveli. In the last week of December 2024, the two stayed at a private lodge in Cuddalore, where Sampath allegedly had physical relations with her after promising to marry her. He later refused to fulfil the promise.
A complaint was submitted to the office of the District Superintendent of Police. On SP Jeyakumar’s instructions, a case was registered at the Cuddalore All Women Police Station. Sampath was arrested on Saturday, and further investigation is under way.
The arrest of two personnel from the state police force within the same week on similar charges has raised concerns across the district.