Man murders wife after fight, buries her in grove near Chennai

CHENNAI: A man from Andhra Pradesh who was working as a security guard at a mango grove in neighbouring Tiruvallur district is suspected to have murdered his wife and buried her in a grove last week.

Police on Friday exhumed the woman's body and have launched a search for her husband.

The suspect, S Dharmaiah (25) joined work as a security guard in the mango grove in Madharapakkam in Pathirvedu, belonging to one Kesavan. In March, Dharmaiah was joined by his wife, D Lakshmi (23) and their three year old son and the family stayed in the grove.

Police said that the murder came to light after Dharmaiah borrowed his employer's two wheeler and left the grove, but never returned. Dharmaiah was seen arguing with his wife on April 23.

Later that day, he went to his employer and stated that his wife has gone to a relative's place and requested his two wheeler to bring her back.

Since he did not return, Kesavan went to Dharmaiah's village and was informed that he had come to the village only with his son and the wife was not to be seen.

"He had got drunk and told local residents that he had murdered his wife and fled the village after villagers questioned him," said a police officer.

Kesavan, who returned to his farm informed the police. On Friday morning, officials from Pathirvedu police and revenue department officials found the woman's body in a freshly dug area in the farm.

The body was sent to Stanley Government Hospital for post-mortem.

Tiruvallur district Police have launched a search for Dharmaiah, who is at large.