Sexual harassment: Woman confesses to killing father-in-law after fortnight, held

RAMANATHAPURAM: A fortnight ago, when a 56-year-old man complained of breathlessness his family assumed that he was having another bout of asthma. They rushed him to the government Paramakudi hospital, where he was already undergoing asthma treatment. 

There, he died the next day. On Thursday, M Murugesan’s (56) daughter-in-law V Kanimozhi (25) confessed to the Village Administrative Officer (VAO) of Keelakulam panchayat union to having poisoned the former to death. Kanimozhi was later arrested by the Keelathooval police.

A resident of Kelal village in Keelakulam panchayat, Kanimozhi has been married to Vinobaraj for four years. The couple does not have any children. According to her confession, Murugesan used to stay with the couple, and in the absence of his son, used to sexually harass her.

Unable to tolerate the torture anymore, Kanimozhi reportedly mixed poison in his dinner on July 31. Soon, Murugesan started complaining of breathlessness, along with stomach ache and diarrhoea. He was taken to the hospital and depending on the versions of the family and the symptoms exhibited by the patients, the doctors started treatment. 

However, they too ruled out any possibility of foul play just like Murugesan’a son and other family members. Hence, when he died on August 1, it was considered a natural death and thereafter cremated. No police complaint was lodged. 

Even after days of the incident, no one had any idea that Murugesan was murdered but Kanimozhi found it hard to live with it. 

Bogged down by guilt, she went to the VAO, Harikrishnan, on Thursday and confessed to having committed the crime. Based on her confession, the VAO informed the Keelathooval police, which arrested her and later remanded her in prison. A case was registered under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.