Woman hacked to death by gang

Coimbatore: A 32-year-old

woman

, who had separated from her husband, was

hacked

to death by a

gang

at Arisipalayam near Othakkalmandapam on the outskirts of the city on Tuesday.

The deceased was identified as V Revathi, a native of Kallatti in the Nilgiris district. “She had married her relative Vijayaraj of Queen Shola in Nilgiris 15 years ago. They have a son and a daughter studying in a private school. The couple had moved to Chettipalayam area 10 years ago and was staying in a rented house. Vijayaraj was working in a pressure cooker manufacturing unit,” a police officer said.

Revathi started an affair with Santhosh, a call taxi driver from Chettipalayam, three years ago. “Vijayaraj, who came to know about the relationship, asked her to end it. Things got worse after Vijayaraj was suspended from the job last month. Struggling to meet the ends, the couple frequently fought with each other. Revathi walked out of the house last month to stay at a rented house arranged by Santhosh at Arisipalayam,” the officer told TOI.

Meanwhile, Santhosh’s family had started to search for a bride for him after they came to know about his relationship with Revathi. “Though they warned him to end the affair, Santhosh ignored them. On Monday, Santhosh had met her at the house at Arisipalayam. He left the place in the night. Revathi was alone when a gang broke opened the house and hacked her to death. The gang had locked two houses in the neighbourhood before committing the murder. The neighbours informed police after they managed to come out of their houses on Tuesday morning,” the officer added.

Police sent the body to the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) for post-mortem. Fingerprint experts and forensic experts inspected the spot. A sniffer dog was also pressed into service.

Madukkarai police have detained four suspects on Tuesday evening.