In a horrific crime in Chennai city, a 41-year-old domestic worker was murdered by a man, after she refused to give details of her daughter’s whereabouts. Revathy, who worked in an apartment complex in Chennai’s Guindy area, was returning from work on Friday night when 30-year-old Vinod accosted her, demanding the phone number and address of 21-year-old Jeevitha, Revathy’s daughter. After an argument broke out between the duo, Vinod, who was on his bike, slashed her with a knife and fled the scene. Revathy died on the spot. He has since been caught by the police.
According to the Guindy police, Revathy, a single mother, had called off Vinod’s wedding with Jeevitha, which was scheduled to take place in November last year. “Vinod and Jeevitha had been in love for five years. They got engaged in March last year with the consent of both families. However, shortly after the engagement, the mother discovered that Vinod had many bad habits like smoking up, drinking and gambling. She didn’t want to spoil her daughter’s future so she called off the wedding. This enraged Vinod as he was preparing to get invitations printed for the wedding,” said one investigation official from the Guindy police station.
However, the police, who had previously been informed about Vinod’s behaviour by the family, merely let off Vinod with a ‘warning’. In November last year, the family had approached the All Women's Police Station in Guindy to report Vinod who kept pestering the family after the wedding had been called off.
"The AWPS warned him and there was no problem. He left them alone at that time. One month back, he reached Jeevitha's workplace and tried to contact her again. In order to stop her daughter from being bothered by Vinod, Revathy admitted Jeevitha in a hostel three days ago. Unable to contact Jeevitha, Vinod kept torturing Revathy for her contact details and finally killed her as he believed she stood in the way of their union,” said the officer.
The officer added, “He came to bother them only two- three times. It would have been good if they had reported him again. Either the mother or the daughter could have come and told us that he has started troubling them again.”
Vinod was arrested on Saturday under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (Punishment for murder).