SALEM: The Salem city police arrested a land broker on Tuesday in connection with the murder of an elderly woman and the theft of her gold jewellery.
N Janabai, 74, of Muniyappan Samy Koil Street in Kitchipalayam, was found strangled to death at her residence on Monday night. Inquiries revealed that land broker V Sampath Kumar, 55, of Narayana Nagar in the city murdered the woman and stole her seven sovereigns of gold jewellery.
“The stolen ornaments have since been recovered,” said a police officer. The murder came to light when her son, Senthil Kumar, returned home after work. He found that her gold jewellery, weighing seven sovereigns, was missing. The Kitchipalayam police registered a case. Salem city police commissioner Joshi Nirmal Kumar formed a special team to investigate the case. Later, he pledged the jewellery at a pawn shop. Police found that Janabai had sold a portion of her land a few months ago and had been frequently approached by land brokers regarding the sale of her remaining properties. Sampath Kumar was among those who had allegedly visited her in connection with land transactions.