POCSO case accused arrested on charge of murdering the complainant

A 43-year-old man was arrested on charges of allegedly murdering a woman who had previously filed a POCSO complaint against him. The woman’s body was found in a pond near Vedaranyam a few days ago.

The accused, Shanmuganathan, 43, who had been out on bail in the POCSO case, was taken into custody and, after investigation, the case was reclassified as murder on Sunday.

The 43-year-old woman, mother of the POCSO victim, had gone to bathe in a private pond near her house on Wednesday morning. When she did not return, her family searched for her and found her body in the pond.

Initially, Vedaranyam police registered it as a case of suspicious death and sent the body to Tiruvarur Government Medical College Hospital for post-mortem. During investigation, the police learnt that a relative of the dead woman, Shanmuganathan, who had attempted to end his life the same morning, was admitted to Vedaranyam Government Hospital and was later shifted to Nagapattinam Government Medical College Hospital.

The police found that a POCSO had been registered case against Shanmuganathan at Vedaranyam All Women Police Station for attempted sexual assault of an 11-year-old daughter of the dead woman. Shanmuganathan allegedly murdered the mother of the girl in retaliation.

Shanmuganathan was arrested from Nagapattinam Government Medical College Hospital and is now lodged in Tiruchi Central Prison.

Published - October 14, 2024 05:12 pm IST