Salem: Woman among 3 held for chopping 55-year-old lady into pieces

COIMBATORE: Three people, including a woman, were arrested on Tuesday night for allegedly murdering a 55-year-old woman and chopping her body into pieces in Salem.

The chopped body of Thangamani of Mettupatti Thadanur, who was working as a maid, was found in the overhead water tanks and the terrace of an adjacent house at Arisipalayam on Monday.

The gruesome murder came to light when Ramesh (62), a temple priest from Gunapala Ramasamy Street in Arisipalayam, noticed a stench in the water coming through the tap of his house. He then opened the lids of the two overhead tanks and found the chopped remains of a woman concealed in sacks. In the terrace of an adjacent house, there was another sack with body parts.

The Pallapatti police established the identity of the deceased with a tattoo on her hand. After examining the CCTV footage and her mobile phone records, the police traced the accused identified as Nandini (28), a maid from Sukkampatti, her lover Malik Basha (27), a driver from Alagapuram, and her friend Sivaraman (26) from Kuranguchavadi.

Officials said the trio allegedly murdered the woman and robbed her four sovereigns of jewels, before disposing of her body by chopping into pieces. Inquiries revealed that Nandini took the woman to her aunt’s house to offer work and murdered her by attacking on the head with a wooden log along with Malik Basha.

After stealing her jewels, the duo, along with Sivaraman, cut her body into pieces and concealed them in tanks. Further investigation is on.