Woman accused of theft commits suicide

A 19-year-old woman committed suicide by setting herself ablaze at her residence on Wednesday, after being accused of theft at her workplace.

Her parents and neighbours rushed her to a hospital but she succumbed to burns on the way.

Sources with the Avadi Tank Factory police identified the deceased as S. Gayathri alias Geetha, a resident of Kanniamman Nagar in Airapuram near Avadi. Geetha was working in a supermarket on New Military Road, Avadi Market.

“On Wednesday morning, a managerial staff member of the store accused Geetha of stealing a product from the ground floor of the store. When Geetha refuted the allegation, the staff member showed her CCTV footage that showed her stealing the product,” said an investigating officer.

The management demanded her resignation which she gave in writing. She left the department store on Wednesday afternoon and on reaching home, locked herself inside a room. She doused her body with kerosene and set herself ablaze, the officer said.

Family members and neighbours rushed in hearing her cries and took a badly burnt Geetha to Government Kilpauk Hospital but she died on the way. Geetha left behind a suicide note in which she had asked her parents, Sekar and Parvathi, to forgive her for taking the extreme measure, the police said.