Coimbatore: In a shocking incident that has emerged in Erode district of Tamil Nadu, a 57-year-old woman allegedly burnt her husband alive with the help of one of her relatives for an insurance amount of Rs 3.5 crore rupees.
Police arrested the duo on the charges of murder on Friday.
As per media reports, the victim identified as K Rangaraj (62), had met with an accident and was hospitalized on March 15. His wife R Jothimani (57) and a relative Raja (41) were taking care of him in the hospital.
Rangaraj was discharged from the hospital on Thursday. Although he was unable to walk, Jothimani and Raja took him out of the hospital in a car.
A police officer quoted by The Times of India said: “When the vehicle reached Valasupalayam near Perumanallur around 11:30 pm, Raja stopped the vehicle. Raja and Jothimani got down from the vehicle, doused it with petrol and set it on fire.”
He said Rangaraj was burnt alive. “On early Friday morning, Raja informed the Tirupur rural police about the death, which he said was an accident,” the officer said.
However, the police grew suspicious when they questioned the duo and found their statements contradictory. The police then checked the CCTV footage of the road and found that Raja had come out from a petrol pump carrying petrol in a can.
Upon interrogation, Raja confessed to the crime, after which Jothimani also agreed to killing of her husband.
The police investigation revealed that Rangaraj had taken loans of about Rs 1.5 crore from various lenders, who were constantly harassing Jothimani for money.
Police also informed that Rangaraj had taken three insurance policies worth Rs 3.5 crore and had nominated his wife for the same. Police said that Jothimani decided to kill him with the intention of claiming insurance money and to make it look like an accident.
“She went to Raja, who agreed to help her. She had given him Rs 50,000 as an advance, and offered Rs 1 lakh after her husband is dead,” police said.