CHENNAI: A 50-year-old woman was stabbed to death, allegedly by her husband, during a quarrel at a house in West Mambalam on Sunday night.
The husband, who was also attacked with a knife by the woman, sustained severe injuries in the fight and is in the intensive care unit of a government hospital.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the deceased, Vijaya, was an absconding suspect in a theft case. She and her husband Panneerselvam (55) were from Thanjavur.
In December, Vijaya had joined as a domestic worker at a house in Selaiyur through a manpower agency run by Anantha Padmanabhan (50) of West Mambalam.
A few days later, 35 sovereigns of gold jewellery went missing from her employer's house after which the couple went absconding. According to the police, they came to Anantha Padmanabhan’s house and offered to surrender and hand over the jewels, after which he kept them in a room.
On Sunday night, a quarrel broke out between them inside the room, during which Vijaya allegedly stabbed Panneerselvam with a knife. The man allegedly snatched the knife and stabbed her multiple times, claimed the police, adding that both sustained serious injuries.
When Anantha Padmanabhan opened the room on Monday morning, he found Vijaya dead and Panneerselvam in a critical condition. He was rushed to Omandurar Government Medical College Hospital in a serious condition, while her body was sent for post-mortem examination.
The police have registered a case and officials said efforts were on to recover the stolen jewellery.