Madurai LIC Manager Death Was Murder, Colleague Held

 Madurai: The death of a senior woman manager at the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) office in Madurai last month, initially believed to have been caused by a fire accident, has now been confirmed as a case of premeditated murder, according to the police.

Kalyani Nambi (55), a senior manager at the LIC office on Melaveliveethi in Madurai city, was found charred to death following a fire in her office room on December 17 last year.

Another employee, Ramakrishnan, an assistant manager from Andalpuram, Madurai, was rescued from the building with burnsand was admitted to a hospital.

The incident was originally registered as an accidental fire by the Madurai Thilagar Thidal police. However, sustained pressure from the victim’s family led the police to reopen the case.

Acting on a complaint lodged by Kalyani Nambi’s son, investigators examined the incident from a murder angle and uncovered prima facie evidence of foul play.

The police said Ramakrishnan initially gave misleading statements during the inquiry, but later confessed during interrogation.

According to the investigators, the accused attacked Kalyani Nambi and set her on fire after she began probing alleged irregularities committed by him in the settlement of insurance claims, including delays in the disbursement of death compensation in nearly 40 cases.

To make the crime appear accidental, Ramakrishnan allegedly set fire to the office premises, during which he suffered comparatively minor burn injuries.

The post-mortem examination revealed injuries on Kalyani Nambi’s body that were inconsistent with a fire accident, indicating that she had been assaulted before being set ablaze, police said.

The relatively minor nature of the accused’s injuries, despite the severity of the blaze, further strengthened suspicion against him, according to the police, who, based on the findings, altered the fire accident case to a murder case and arrested Ramakrishnan.