SALEM: One more person has been arrested over links to the brutal murder of two elderly women of Edaganasalai in Sangagiri taluk early this month.
K Boopathy (52) was taken into custody on Saturday for allegedly assisting in the murders of Paavayi (70) and Periyammal (75) and helping the main accused, C Ayyanar, to dispose of their bodies.
Ayyanar was caught by police near Orukkamalai in Sangagiri taluk during the early hours of Friday. He was shot in the leg during his capture.
Ayyanar, a 55-year-old man from Kamalapuram in Omalur, was arrested by a special police team from Magudanchavadi following a tip-off. When confronted, he allegedly attacked a sub-inspector with a knife, prompting the police to shoot him in the leg before taking him into custody.
Ayyanar confessed to murdering both the women during interrogation.
Their bodies were found floating in an abandoned stone quarry on November 4.
Police said the crime stemmed from a quarrel after Paavayi demanded repayment of money she had lent Ayyanar. Under the influence of alcohol, he attacked and killed her. When Periyammal questioned him about the murder, Ayyanar killed her too to conceal his crime.
According to police, Boopathy had reached the spot while Ayyanar committed the second murder and later helped him remove the women's gold jewellery and dump their bodies into the well inside the quarry. He also assisted Ayyanar in fleeing from the locality and hiding from the police.
Following Ayyanar's confession, Magudanchavadi police arrested Boopathy and remanded him in judicial custody. Investigators are now verifying whether the duo were involved in any other similar offences in the region.