A postgraduate Dalit woman, from Kamudakudi, who went missing on November 13, 2015, is suspected to have been murdered the same day, as the special investigating team recovered the skeleton of a female body, silver anklets and ear studs believed to be those of the deceased.
After Superintendent of Police N. Manivannan directed Paramakudi Deputy SP P. Karuppiah to focus on the missing of B. Thamaraiselvi and step up the investigation, a special team, headed by Inspectors Baskaran and Gunasekaran, launched a fresh search and found the skeleton and other articles on February 19.
The woman missing case took a new turn as the pelvic bone in the skeleton indicated that it was of a woman and the family members of the deceased confirmed that the silver anklets and ear studs, recovered from the site, were those worn by the deceased.
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Police also recovered a ‘chudithar’ from the thickly grown bushes on the Vaigai riverbank at Kamudakudi, which had tag indicating that it was stitched at a tailoring shop in Paramakudi. As they did not want to rush to any conclusion, the special team sent the samples for forensic and DNA tests, the police said.
Status report filed
After making the ‘breakthrough,’ the special team left for Madurai on Thursday to file a status report before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court.
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Passing interim orders on a habeas corpus petition filed by A. Bose, father of the deceased, the court, in its order dated March 3, 2016, had directed the police to trace the woman by March 8, 2016.
After this order, the team led by Mr. Gunasekaran and comprising Special Sub-Inspector Kumaresan, constables R. Madhavan and K. Murugesan, questioned almost all those who had acquaintance with Ms. Thamaraiselvi right from her school days.
After a detailed investigation, the team found that the needle of suspicion pointed at A. Govindaraj (33), her cousin, who was very affectionate with the deceased.
The police said Govindaraj, who worked in Malaysia, had contacted the deceased on his return home on November 11, 2015 and stayed in Madurai without even visiting his wife at Sendanendal. The call details revealed that both had met near the Vaigai riverbed on November 13, 2015, after which both phones were switched off.
Interestingly, the SIM used by the deceased came alive in the mobile phone of Govindaraj the next day. However, sensing that the police were zeroing in on him, he allegedly committed suicide by hanging at Sendanendal.
Suicide note
He left a suicide note stating that he was ending his life as the family members of the deceased blamed him for her missing and suspected their relationship, the police said.