Virudhunagar: A man who allegedly kidnapped his wife from her parents’ house in Srivilliputhur was arrested along with two others on Friday for the murder of a car driver.
On Wednesday, the three accused, including Muhammad Asaruddin of Nagapattinam, approached the victim Murugan (68) at Madurai Junction and asked for a ride to Irukkangudi Mariamman Temple near Sattur, and assured that they would return the same night.
However, since Murugan did not return on Thursday morning and Palapandi, the car owner, could not contact him on call, he lodged a complaint in Madurai.
Meanwhile, Srivilliputhur Town Police found a body with facial injuries in Athikulam. “Since the local people could not identify the body, the photographs were circulated on social media. After a while, we received a call from Madurai, identifying the body as that of Murugan,” police said.
However, Murugan’s family refused to accept the body until the accused involved in his death were arrested.
On Wednesday night, S Rukhshana Parveen (45), a resident of Ashok Nagar, lodged a complaint against her son-in-law Asaruddin, alleging that Asaruddin had kidnapped her daughter Seerabanu in the car. “Sirabanu and Asruddin were married six months ago. After a dispute between them, my daughter has been living with me for a month,” Rukshana said in her complaint.
During the investigation, the police suspected that the accused involved in the murder of Murugan and the kidnapping of Seerabanu were the same. “After investigation, our prediction proved correct and we launched efforts to nab the accused,” police said.
The three accused and Sirabanu were secured on Friday. “Further investigation is underway to ascertain the motive behind the kidnapping as well as the murder,” police said.
It is noteworthy that Asruddin was also involved in a theft case and was released on bail last week.
