Miffed over widowed mom’s affair, 26-yr-old murders her

Manikandan (34), the mentally challenged brother of the deceased V Shanthi (42), also suffered burns and was admitted at Chromepet government hospital. Shanthi was a wage worker.

The arrested youth has been identified as Anandaraj from Coimbatore. He lived at Erikarai street near Unamanchery in Vandalur and worked at a petrol bunk.

Police said after her husband’s death Shanthi, Anandaraj and Manikandan, shifted to Vandalur near her sister’s house.

Anandaraj had recently noticed that Shanthi was having an affair with a man in the locality and had warned her many times not to talk with him. However, on Tuesday, Anandaraj saw her with the man, and had a fight with his mother after he returned home in the night.

Police said at one point, Shanthi took a kerosene bottle, and threatened Anandaraj that she would commit suicide. Anandaraj, who was already angry and upset at that point, then took hold of a wooden log and slammed it hard on his mother’s head.

Police said though Shanthi had fallen unconscious, Anandaraj mistakenly thought she had died. He then carried her to the nearby lake and burnt the body using kerosene in a bid to erase proof of his crime before escaping from the spot.

The villagers, who noticed something burning near the lake, rushed to the spot and were shocked to see Shanthi in flames. Meanwhile, Manikandan who tried in vain to douse the fire and save his elder sister, suffered burn injuries.

The Vandalur Otteri police team rushed to the spot and admitted Manikandan to a hospital and sent Shanthi’s charred body to Chromepet government hospital for post-mortem.

After initial investigation, police detained Anandaraj for inquiry. He initially told the police that he did not have any role in his mother’s death. However, on Wednesday afternoon, he admitted to the police that he had committed the crime. Police then arrested Anandaraj.