Father of Chennai woman killed by stalker found dead, suicide suspected: Cops

 

Tamil Nadu director general of police (DGP) Sylendra Babu has transferred the case to the Crime Branch – Crime Investigation Department.

The father of a 20-year-old woman, who was allegedly pushed by her stalker before a moving train in Chennai, reportedly died by suicide after hearing the news of his daughter’s death on Thursday, police said on Friday.

The 23-year-old stalker, meanwhile, was arrested on Thursday night and confessed to the crime, police added.

Tamil Nadu director general of police (DGP) Sylendra Babu transferred the case to the Crime Branch – Crime Investigation Department on Friday.

The body of the woman’s father was found in his residence in Adambakkam on Thursday. The man reportedly took the extreme step after hearing the news of his daughter’s demise earlier in the day.

The father’s body was shifted to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital where a post-mortem was conducted and whose reports are awaited, police said.

“He died by suicide by consuming a poisonous substance. We are awaiting the post mortem report,” an official at St Thomas Mount police station said.

The deceased’s daughter, a student in a private college, and the stalker were neighbours, police said. The woman was engaged and the accused was reportedly upset over this, they added.

CCTV footage of St Thomas Mount Railway station showed the duo talking to each other before the conversation reportedly escalated into a heated argument and the man pushed her in front of a moving local train at around 1pm and escaped.

The woman died on the spot, police said. Railway police retrieved the body and sent it to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital for autopsy. The reports are awaited.

“The duo were arguing and suddenly the man pushed her and ran away,” Prassana Kumari, an eyewitness, said.

“We arrested the accused on Thursday night from Thoraipakkam after two special teams were formed to nab him,” an officer from the railway police said, seeking anonymity. He was later taken to Mambalam police station for questioning, the officer added.

Additional director general of police (ADGP) V Vanitha of railway police told HT the accused has confessed to the crime. “The accused has confessed that he pushed her in front of a train because he was annoyed that she was engaged to someone else,” Vanitha said.

The accused has been booked for murder and remanded in Puzhal jail till October 28. “We will file the chargesheet at the earliest and convict him,” the ADGP said.

The woman had registered a complaint against the accused at St Thomas Mount police station a few months ago, according to a senior officer at the police station.

“A CSR was filed and proper action was taken,” the officer said, without providing details.

The woman’s mother is a head constable at Adambakkam police station and the accused’s father is a retired sub-inspector. The duo had known each other for a while, police said.