MADURAI: The Madurai LIC branch office fire, in which a senior woman official was charred to death in December 2025, took a shocking turn on Monday with the police arresting the victim’s junior colleague on murder charges.
According police sources, T Ram (40) of Andalpuram, an assistant administrative officer of the LIC office located on West Perumal Maistry Street, had allegedly poured petrol on senior branch manager Kalayani Nambi (54) and set her on fire after she uncovered the irregularities committed by him in disbursing insurance compensation to policyholders. She had also recommended action against him for not clearing death claims.
The Thilagar Thidal police on Monday arrested Ram on murder charges.
The fire broke out at the LIC office on the night of December 17 when Kalyani was working on the second floor. While she was charred to death, Ram, who was also present at the office at the time, suffered minor burns and was taken to Government Rajaji Hospital.
Following the incident, the victim’s son, Lakshmi Narayanan, lodged a police complaint raising suspicion over his mother’s death. He told the police that Kalyani had called him minutes before the fire accident asking him to alert the police. He also pointed out that the office door, which is usually kept open during work hours by his mother, was found locked with an iron chain, sources said.
Accused poured petrol on victim, set her ablaze
During interrogation, Ram allegedly gave contradictory statements. Initially, he claimed that a masked intruder had entered the office, stolen Kalyani’s jewellery and set her on fire. Later, he told officials that no outsider was present in the building at the time of the blaze. The inconsistencies prompted a detailed probe by a special team.
Further investigation revealed that Ram had allegedly poured petrol on Kalyani, set her ablaze, and locked the room before fleeing the spot. Sources added that Kalyani, who had been recently transferred from Tirunelveli to Madurai, detected large-scale irregularities in the settlement of compensation payments at the office.
She had allegedly informed higher authorities that she would recommend action against Ram, which is suspected to be the motive for the murder. “Based on evidence and investigation reports, the accused person has been arrested, Further probe is under way to ascertain other details in the case,” a senior official from Madurai city police said.