Chennai
In a chilling crime in western Tamil Nadu, the police suspect a 55-year-old woman, along with her relative, set ablaze her husband, a senior citizen, inside a car to make it appear like an accident and claim his insurance money. The woman, Jothimani and her 41-year-old relative Raja have been arrested.
The crime happened on Thursday evening in Tiruppur district near Coimbatore. Police said the victim Rangaraj, 62, owned a power loom in neighbouring Erode. Following an accident last month, his ability to move around was restricted. On Thursday evening after he was discharged from a hospital in Coimbatore, his wife took him in a car driven by Raja. At night, Raja stopped the car on the road near Perumanallur in Tiruppur and alighted along with Jothimani. The two then allegedly poured fuel on the vehicle and set it ablaze with Rangaraj inside. He was charred to death.
According to the police, the two reported to the police on Friday he had died when the car accidentally caught fire. However, suspecting their version, the police probed the case and recovered CCTV footage in which Raja was seen trying to purchase fuel in a plastic can and confronted him. He allegedly spilled the beans on the murder.
A senior police officer was quoted as saying Rangaraj had a debt of Rs1.5 crore but had insurance cover for Rs3.5 crore. His wife with her relative decided to eliminate him hoping to claim the insurance money. The plan, however, went haywire and the two are in custody.
