The Sevvapet police in Tiruvallur district arrested 50-year-old man for allegedly murdering a 74-year-old woman to steal three sovereigns of gold jewellery she was wearing.

The police said the victim, Mariammal, 74, lived with her son’s family in a house near Selva Vinayagar Koil Street in Tiruvallur. Her son, Sugumar, 42, lived on the ground floor with his wife and children, while Mariammal stayed on the first floor. Sugumar works for a private company in Sriperumbudur, and his wife is employed at a private institution.

On August 7, around 1 p.m., when Sugumar returned home for lunch, he found his mother lying in a pool of blood with stab injuries to her neck. He alerted the police after which they reached the house and shifted Mariammal to Tiruvallur Government Medical College Hospital. However, she died while undergoing treatment.

The police registered a case and launched an investigation. With the help of CCTV camera footage, the investigators noticed an unidentified man moving suspiciously near the house on the day of the incident.

Further investigation led to the arrest of Balasubramanian, a worker from Kakkalur, who was allegedly involved in the murder. The police recovered the gold jewellery that was stolen from the victim.

Published - August 11, 2026 07:15 pm IST