In a case of suspected rape and murder, a woman was found dead in a house on Dharmaraja Temple Street in Saidapet on Friday.
According to police sources, Ashwini (25) was found dead on the bed with her throat slit when her husband Sivanandam (28) returned home from work on Friday evening. Prima facie it appeared that the woman was raped and murdered. Some jewellery in the house were also missing.
The body was shifted to the Government Royapettah Hospital for post-mortem. Forensic experts and sniffer dogs inspected the scene of crime. Senior police officials, including Joint Commissioner of Police (South) K.P. Shanmugarajeswaran, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Adyar) K.A. Senthil Velan, visited the scene of crime and special teams of the Saidapet police were formed to investigate the case.
“Preliminary investigation pointed to the involvement of a youth related to Sivanandam, who often visit the house in his absence. The suspect was seen going around on a motorcycle with Ashwini. Neighbours complained about this to Sivanandam and the house owner had even asked him to vacate. The accused has vacated the room he was staying in a different area and his mobile phone is switched off,” a senior police official said.
While not ruling out the possibility of a murder for gain, the official quoted eyewitnesses as saying that the suspect, whose name was identified as Suresh, had visited the woman on Friday. “Some friends of the family say that Ashwini celebrated her birthday today. We are also looking into other angles,” he said.
