Ranjani of Kavanur village in Madambakkam near Sriperumbudur married a man named Sathya 15 years ago and had a son and a daughter.

The couple later divorced due to personal differences. She later married a man named Asain, who died five years ago by consuming pesticide. She later lived with a man named Azhar for a while and then separated.

In recent years, Ranjani had been living with Senthil, her fourth husband, at Mandaveli Street in Tiruthaveli village near Sriperumbudur.

They said the couple had consumed a large quantity of alcohol on Wednesday night. While under the influence of alcohol, a heated argument broke out between them. The quarrel escalated, and Senthil allegedly assaulted Ranjani brutally. She collapsed in a pool of her blood and died on the spot.

According to the police, the intoxicated Senthil was unaware of his wife's death throughout the night, realised only in the morning and fled.

The incident came to light in the morning when neighbours noticed Ranjani lying motionless inside the house and alerted the Padappai police. Police rushed to the spot, recovered her body and sent it to the Tambaram Government Hospital for post-mortem examination.

A murder case has been registered, and police are searching for Senthil, who is on the run.