CHENNAI: A 38-year-old man was arrested for allegedly strangling his wife to death following an argument over buying liquor in Perungudi near here, police said on Wednesday.

According to police, Loganathan, a resident of Kallukuttai working as a delivery worker, was married to Sudha (28) for eight years, and the couple had no children.

On Sunday night, the couple was consuming alcohol together at their home.

Sudha reportedly asked her husband to fetch more liquor.

However, Loganathan stated that the state-run TASMAC liquor outlet was closed, to which Sudha allegedly insisted that he buy it from the black market.

This triggered a heated argument between them.

In a fit of rage, Loganathan choked Sudha with her dupatta (stole), killing her on the spot.

He then fell asleep in the house.

Upon waking up on Monday morning, he realised Sudha had died.

He locked the house, wandered in the Taramani area, and later went to Saidapet in the evening, where he confessed to an acquaintance that he had murdered his wife.

The Thoraipakkam police, alerted to the incident, rushed to Saidapet and arrested Loganathan on Tuesday.

Sudha’s body was recovered from the residence and sent for a post-mortem examination.

Police are investigating whether the murder occurred solely due to the dispute over buying alcohol or if there were other underlying reasons.