A woman from Tirunelveli was brutally hacked to death by her estranged husband inside a women’s hostel in Coimbatore on Sunday, in a crime that has triggered outrage over rising offences against women in Tamil Nadu.
Police identified the victim as Sripriya, who worked at a private firm in Coimbatore, and the accused as her husband, Balamurugan, with whom she had been living separately following marital disputes. Officers said Balamurugan arrived at the hostel on Sunday afternoon under the pretext of meeting her but had concealed a sickle in his clothes.
According to investigators, an argument broke out between the two soon after they met. In a sudden attack, Balamurugan allegedly pulled out the sickle and hacked her to death in the hostel. Shockingly, police said that he then took a selfie with her body and uploaded it as his WhatsApp status, claiming she had “betrayed” him.
Residents of the hostel ran out in fear as the attack unfolded. Balamurugan, however, stayed at the spot and waited until the police arrived. He was arrested on the spot, and the weapon was recovered. Initial investigations suggest he suspected his wife was in a relationship with another man.
The murder has intensified the political debate in Tamil Nadu over women’s safety. The opposition has been accusing the ruling DMK government of declining law and order and failing to protect women, pointing to a rise in brutal crimes and sexual offences.
The DMK government and the state police, however, maintain that these are stray incidents driven by personal enmity, insisting that swift action is being taken in every such case to ensure speedy justice and maximum punishment.