Chennai: Lord Siva and Godess Parvathy helped crack a gruesome murder case in Chennai recently.
Parts of a woman's dismembered body were found in a dump yard located in southern part of Chennai two weeks ago.
The only clue the police had was a 'Siva-Parvathy' tattoo on the right arm of the woman's body.
Within a fortnight, the police tracked down the identity of the woman who was killed. Soon, a sordid tale of an affair between an actress and a director and the tragedy unravelled.
The story had all elements of a Kollywood thriller – love marriage, extramarital affair, suspicion and murder.
The probe
The police team, which began the murder probe last month with just the tattoo as a clue, on Wednesday arrested 51-year-old S R Balakrishnan, a small-time film director and producer, for allegedly killing his wife Sandhya, 35.
"Various cases of missing women were examined. Among them identification marks of Sandhya who went missing in Chennai matched with the tattoos found on the severed limbs," Chennai Police Commissioner A K Vishwanathan told reporters.
After murdering his wife on January 19, Balakrishnan dismembered the body the next day and dumped the parts packed in plastic bags in various garbage bins in the city, police said.
During investigation, Balakrishnan confessed to having committed the crime suspecting her fidelity.
"Based on information he gave, another part of the woman's body was also found Wednesday," the police said, adding that further investigation is on to find the woman's head and torso.
How police cracked the case
Sandhya hailed from Thoothukudi in the state. A missing compliant was filed two days ago by Sandhya's mother in the Thotthukkudi station.
This led to the breakthrough in the case.
The identification provided in the complaint had a 'Siva Parvathy' tattoo on the right arm of Sandhya.
After severed limbs of a women were found near the dump yard near the Pallikaranai garbage plant, three police teams led by Deputy Commissioner Muthuswami were formed to investigate the case.
The body parts were sent for autopsy to the Chromepet Government Hospital.
A tattoo, similar to the one mentioned in the complaint filed by Sandhya's mother was found on the severed arm, which helped the police to identify the body and zero in on Balakrishnan. Though he first denied any involvement, Balakrishnan confessed to the crime after detailed questioning.
The statements given by Balakrishnan's neighbours claiming they had spotted Sandhya at his house during the Pongal festival also became crucial in the case.
The motive
Sandhya, a junior artist in Tamil movies and Balakrishnan, an assistant director during that time, fell in love and got married 17 years ago. The couple have two kids -- a 16-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son.
Balakrishnan's directorial debut movie, Kadhal Ilavasam, was released in 2015. It flopped in the box office. The couple also dabbled with local politics between 2004 and 2010.
The couple had issues as Balakrishnan picked up fights with Sandhya suspecting her fidelity. Sandhya had filed a domestic violence complaint against Balakrishnan last November in Thoothukudi police station and allegedly sought a divorce.
Later, the couple reconciled and she went to her husband's place for Pongal.
However, an argument broke out in the night of January 19 following which Balakrishnan attacked Sandhya with with a sharp object, leading to her death.
After her death, he chopped of her limbs and disposed the body parts in various dumping sites across Chennai.
