Chennai: Sivasubramanian, 35, a fake godman and scrap merchant from Kattangulathur, in Kancheepuram district, was arrested on Thursday, three days after he murdered Arathi, 30, wife of a software professional in Pallikaranai on Monday in her flat by giving her poison as theertham after a pooja, to rob her. “He conducted pooja on Monday at the flat of Arathi, wife of Raju and mother of a 10-month-old baby girl. Arathi wanted to conduct the pooja to win back her husband’s love and affection.
She came to know about the ‘godman’ through her maid Rani. She used to rant about the affectionless life she was leading to Rani, who offered to help her and introduced the ‘godman’. Arathi, then invited Sivasubramanian to conduct the pooja on Monday,” police sources said. Her husband, who returned from work by 11 pm the same day, found her dead in the bathroom. He then informed the police.
The police team, which found a letter written by her, addressed to Lord Siva, initially thought it was a suicide note. On Thursday, they said the godman made her write a letter addressing it to God and asked her to keep it with the figurine attached to her thali as a ritual. In the letter, she narrated her loveless life. She packed the letter and thali figurine together in a plastic cover and kept it inside her bra. After the pooja, she was given some poison mixed in water by the ‘godman’ as theertham. He then asked her to bathe. When she went to the bathroom, she collapsed there. Sivasubramanian removed the gold chains from around her neck and walked away, leaving the flat door open.
When Raju returned from work, he found the apartment door open and his daughter crying in the bedroom. He later saw Aarthi foaming and dead in the bathroom. Though Raju told the police that her gold thali was missing, hinting that she could have been murdered for gain, the investigators were initially pushing the theory of suicide.
