Police have arrested a councillor representing the 44{+t}{+h} ward in Kumbakonam Municipality here on Wednesday after a fire victim named him as the accused in her dying declaration a day earlier.
The police said R. Jiddhu alias Indrajith (45) was named as the accused by victim Sangeetha (27), wife of Kasinathan of Madhulampettai here, who succumbed to injuries caused by fire at the Government Hospital on Tuesday.
In her dying declaration before Judicial Magistrate II Saravana Bhavan, Sangeetha confessed that she, a mother of two sons, and the councillor had illicit relationship.
Sangeetha alleged that Indrajith had been pestering her to dump her family to join him which she was not willing to do. Irked over her refusal, Indrajith doused her with kerosene and set fire to her, Sangeetha stated in her declaration.