COIMBATORE: Salem police arrested a college student and his two girl friends on Wednesday for murdering a 35-year-old woman by administering her with a sedative injection before throwing her along the Yercaud Ghat Road.
The deceased, Lokanayaki alias Albiya, from Perambalur, who stayed in a women’s hostel in Salem and worked as a teacher in a private institute, had gone missing four days ago. Her body was found in a decomposed state in a 20-foot deep gorge along the Ghat Road.
Perusing the deceased’s call records, police traced her identity and picked up Abdul Hafeez (22), studying final year BE Computer Science in a private engineering college in Perambalur.
Inquiries revealed that Abdul Hafeez took the help of S Sultana, a software employee in Chennai, and R Monisha (21), from Tiruchy, studying fifth year in a private medical college in Villupuram, to murder Lokanayaki. Police said Abdul Hafeez was also in a relationship with Monisha and Sultana, whom he got to know through Instagram.
The police said Lokanayaki, who converted to Islam and also changed her name, had pestered him to get married and even attempted suicide recently by slitting her wrists. On March 1, the trio took Albiya to Yercaud in a hired car without a driver.
“On their way, Monisha, who is studying medicine, administered her with a sedative injection. After she swooned, the trio threw her away into the gorge and left the spot,” police said. Further investigations are on.