A 25-year-old woman with burn injuries was found lying on an open tract of land in Mylapore on Saturday night. The woman is suspected to have set herself ablaze because the supermarket she used to work at did not pay her salary dues.
On Saturday evening at around 7.30 p.m., the Mylapore police received a call telling them about a woman with severe burn injuries lying unattended behind a supermarket on T.T.K. Road in Alwarpet. The police rushed to the spot and the woman was taken to the Government Kilpauk Hospital for treatment,” said Mylapore law and order inspector K. Mohan Das. However, she succumbed to her burns despite medical attention.
Mylapore police registered a case, and on investigating, identified the woman as Ramya (25), a resident of Surya Nagar in Kotturpuram. Her husband Raja is a recovery agent for a private bank.
Initial investigations revealed that Ramya was pursuing her education through distance learning. Over a year ago, she used to work in a supermarket in Alwarpet. She left the job, but was supposed to be given her salary dues, police officials claimed
. “She was last seen speaking over the phone with someone. We are tracing the cell phone number and trying to find out whom she was speaking to,” said Mr. Das.
There were also rumours that Ramya took the extreme step as she had had problems at the supermarket when she used to work there.
E. Rajkumar, a friend of Ramya's husband however, claimed that she was not the type of woman who would commit suicide. “I know the family very well. She completed class X and was then pursuing class XII through correspondence. She was a very courageous woman. Raja and Ramya never quarrelled and they loved each other very much. Her parents also stayed with her,” said Mr. Rajkumar.
Both Ramya and Raja, were natives of Tiruvannamalai, and have a son who is in class I. “Ramya left home at around 3.30 p.m. on a bicycle and must have reached the supermarket at 4.15 p.m. She did not take kerosene or a knife with her, so there is no way she could have committed suicide. She could have ended her life at home also. There is something fishy about her death, especially as the other residents in the locality did not see anything,” he added.
