Chennai: A mother and stepfather have been arrested in connection with the murder of a 10-year-old girl. Jayalakshmi (35), a native of Thiruvattiyoor, Tamil Nadu, and her husband Padmanabhan were arrested by the police.
Jayalalithaa’s daughter Pavithra’s second marriage was badly burnt on Sunday night. At her husband’s request, Jayalalithaa herself set her daughter on fire to prove her credibility. The girl, who suffered 75 percent burns, was later admitted to hospital but died Monday morning. Jayalakshmi and her husband were later arrested by the police.
Jayalakshmi, originally from Thiruvattiyoor, was first married to Palvannan at the age of 19. One daughter in this relationship is currently a nursing student.
Jayalakshmi later divorced Palvannan and married his brother Durairaj. The two moved to Mumbai. Pavithra is the child in a relationship with Durairaj. But this marriage did not last long. Jayalalithaa left Durairaj and returned to her homeland. She later married Padmanabhan, a tanker lorry driver and divorcee. They were married nine years ago. There are two children, ages six and four, in this relationship.
According to police, Padmanabhan used to quarrel with his drunken wife. The man, who was suspicious of his wife, was constantly arguing over this. On Sunday night, there were problems with the same thing. Padmanabhan then challenged his wife to prove her credibility.
Padmanabhan wanted to prove his credibility by burning his daughter alive. He also said that if the wife is innocent, the daughter will not get burnt. With this, Jayalakshmi dragged her sleeping daughter and poured kerosene on her body and set it on fire.
Neighbors heard the girl’s screams. Neighbors fled the scene and rushed the girl to hospital. But 75 percent of the burns were due to death by Holy Monday morning.
Content Highlights: Woman sets ablaze daughter to prove fidelity to husband arrested