Three days after a Thrissur-based man, Viraj, poured petrol over his wife Jeethu and set her on fire in public view, the Kerala police has nabbed him in Mumbai.
A team led by Pudukkad Sub-Inspector arrested Viraj in Mumbai around 10:30 pm on Wednesday. He was absconding after setting Jeethu on fire on Sunday afternoon.
Confirming the arrest to TNM, Pudukkad Circle Inspector said that Viraj had taken shelter at the house of one of his family members in Mumbai.
The relatives happened to see the news of the crime on TV and informed us that Viraj has come to their house and was staying there. We knew that he had fled to Mumbai, but the call from the relatives helped us nab him at the earliest.Pudukkad Circle Inspector
The team of police personnel will bring Viraj to Kerala in two days, after completing legal formalities in Mumbai. "The team will produce Viraj in a court there and get a warrant. Only after that can they bring him here. It will take at least two days," the police said.
Jeethu was set on fire by her husband Viraj on Sunday afternoon while she was waiting at the Kudumbashree office in Chengaloor in Thrissur district.
Though her father Janardhanan tried to intervene and stop Viraj, the latter managed to set Jeethu on fire. The father later told reporters that while several people were witness to the horrifying crime, nobody came to his aide. Jeethu was rushed to a hospital soon after the incident, but she succumbed to her injuries on Tuesday morning.
While the police is yet to interrogate Viraj, they believe that Viraj had been planning to murder Jeethu for the past one month.
The police recovered a 'suicide note' from a bag he left behind at the scene of the crime, in which he alleged that Jeethu had cheated on him and so "she does not deserve to live."
Police said that the relationship between Jeethu and Viraj had soured after he saw her with another man. Following this, the duo filed for divorce and Jeethu was staying at her parents' house.
(This story was first published on The News Minute and has been republished with permission)
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