Days after a headless body of a woman was found floating in a water body at Vamadam here, police on Monday established the identity of the victim and arrested one of the accused believed to be involved in the crime.
However, efforts to retrieve the missing head from the Uyyakondan river near Uzhavar Sandhai, based on the information given by the accused, Ranganathan, are still on.
The victim was identified as Sasikala, aged 28 years, a native of Kallur village in Pudukottai district.
The Thillai Nagar police have also detained a woman named Sathya and Suresh, an associate of Ranganathan, in the case. During the course of their probe, police got wind of a woman missing case booked in K.Pudhupatti police station in Pudukottai district.
According to police sources, the victim was a relative of Sathya, a resident of Milaguparai in the city. Sathya along with the other accused had brought Sasikala to Tiruchi a few days ago with the promise of getting her married to Ranganathan and allegedly took her gold chain weighing one-and-half sovereigns.
When Sasikala wanted to return back home, the accused allegedly took her to Thuvarankurichi, Pudukottai, Karaikudi, Samayapuram and Velankanni.
They decided to eliminate Sasikala when she started pestering Ranganathan, a mechanic, to marry her and wanted her gold chain back. According to police, Sasikala was strangulated to death and the body was later dumped in the water body.
Fearing that the police might narrow them down as they were already enquired by the Pudukottai police in connection with the woman missing case, Sathya is alleged to have told Ranganathan and Suresh to chop the head of the murdered woman to make it difficult for the investigators to establish the identity of the victim.
Accordingly, Ranganathan and Suresh went to the spot a day later and allegedly chopped off the head and threw it in the Uyyakondan river. Police sources said Ranganathan surrendered before the Woraiyur Village Administrative Officer on Monday following which he was arrested.
