Special teams of the Coimbatore City Police arrested Selvam (35) in Karur on Tuesday in connection with the rape and murder of a woman in a house in the city.
On November 19, residents of Tashkent Nagar near the airport alerted the police about foul smell emanating from a locked house.
Police found the body of a middle aged woman in a decomposed state in the house that was taken on rent by Selvam, who hailed from Rasipuram in Namakkal.
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A memory card found in the handbag contained the photograph of a woman who police presumed was that of the victim. They circulated the photograph of the woman to identify the victim.
Meanwhile, a woman from Arakkonam called up the police to clarify that it was her picture in the memory card.
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In the meantime, special teams arrested Selvam near Karur bus stand.
The victim has been identified as Sathya (32) of Theni district, who was working as a warden in an orphanage in Chennai.
Friendship over phone
According to police, the accused had befriended Sathya after several conversations over the mobile phone.
Sathya came to Coimbatore on November 12 and stayed with Selvam for three days. She had reportedly insisted that Selvam marry her but Selvam refused saying that he was already married.
Getting into a fit of rage after Sathya repeatedly appealed to him about marriage, Selvam allegedly murdered her on November 16 and fled the scene.
Further investigations are on.
On November 19, an unidentified woman was found dead in a locked house at Tashkent Nagar near the airport