MDMK secretary held for murdering retired woman cop in Kancheepuram

CHENNAI: Investigating the death of a retired woman police inspector 10 days ago, the police in Kancheepuram arrested the district secretary of MDMK – the same man who was her friend for years, who alerted her son about her not answering phone calls which led to the discovery of her death, and the one who made all arrangements for her funeral.

Kasthuri (62) of Kalandar Street in Kancheepuram retired from service as an inspector posted in Tiruvallur in 2020. She had separated from her husband 30 years ago and was staying alone while her son Kamesh works as a professor at a college in Uttarakhand.

Last week, her long-time friend Valaiyapathi, the district secretary of MDMK, informed Kamesh that she was not picking up his calls. After his calls, too, went unanswered, Kamesh asked his friend to check on her.

His friend went to the house to find the locked but a foul smell emanating from inside and alerted the Siva Kanchi police station. The officials came there and broke open the door, and found her decomposed body on the floor. The body was sent to Chengalpattu GH for post-mortem examination.

The autopsy revealed that Kasthuri had injuries on her head and other parts of her body, indicating it to be a murder. The police checked the CCTV footage from the house and also her mobile phone records. On suspicion, the police detained Valaiyapathi. During the intense questioning, he accepted murdering Kasthuri, the police said.

According to the police, Kasthuri recently approached him seeking help to sell her house in Kancheepuram. On August 18, as they were discussing the deal at her house, Valaiyapathi insisted that she should sell her house, worth Rs 2 crore, for half the price through him. This triggered an argument between them, which escalated and he allegedly assaulted and smashed her head on the wall, killing her on the spot.