TIRUNELVELI: The police have arrested a couple in Tirunelveli district for allegedly murdering their 21-year-old daughter and attempting to pass it off as suicide, officials said.
The deceased, identified as Amudha, was found hanging inside her house on Nochikulam South Street under Senbagaramanallur panchayat near Moolaikaraipatti. Her parents, Sivan Konar (60) and Vairammal (57), initially told villagers she had died by suicide.
The Moolaikaraipatti police recovered her body and sent it to the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital at Palayamkottai for a post-mortem examination.
During an investigation, led by Nanguneri deputy superintendent of police Dharshika Natarajan, it came to the fore that the death was a case of murder staged as suicide. The police subsequently arrested Konar and Vairammal.
According to the police, the couple told investigators that they had objected to an alleged relationship between Amudha and a married relative. They said despite repeated warnings, the two continued their relationship.
The parents assaulted Amudha and forced her to consume poison. After she lost consciousness, they allegedly hung her from a rope and later claimed that she died by suicide. The police are investigating further.