Coimbatore woman arrested for Dubai-based businessman's murder

The Hindu

04-05-2025

The police on Sunday arrested a woman from Coimbatore in connection with the murder of a Dubai-based businessman at her residence in the city on April 24.
Sharadha Shanmugam, 32, a resident of FCI Colony at Gandhi Maa Nagar in the city, was arrested by Saravanampatti police from the city for murdering D. Sigamani, 47, a native of Puliyanthoppu in Thanjavur.
According to police, Sharadha, who was working as a receptionist in Dubai, was allegedly involved in an affair with Sigamani, who ran a travel firm. The two were also involved in financial dealings, which in turn led to disputes between them. Sharadha had also complained to her parents that he was torturing her.
Sharadha, her stepfather T. Thiyagarajan, 69, mother Gomathi, 52, sister S. Neela, 33, plotted to murder Sigamani with assistance from Puthiyavan alias Kutti Thangam, a henchman from Tirunelveli, and his relative P. Swathi, 26, the investigators found out.
Sigamani arrived at Coimbatore International Airport on April 22 from Abu Dhabi, allegedly after being invited by Sharadha, who also reached the city from Dubai. Sharadha and Thiyagarajan took him to their residence at Gandhi Maa Nagar, where he was served food and drinks laced with sedatives on April 24, police said. He was allegedly murdered that night, and his body was taken to Karur and dumped in an isolated place falling under K. Paramathi Police Station limits.
Meanwhile, Sigamani's wife launched a complaint that her husband had not reached home after arriving in Coimbatore from Abu Dhabi. Peelamedu Police in Coimbatore launched an investigation, and upon learning that Sigamani was received by Sharadha and Thiyagrajan upon his arrival in Coimbatore, launched a search for them. Sharadha, however, had returned to Dubai. Sigamani's relatives, who saw her on April 25, began to suspect her role in the disappearance. She returned to Coimbatore on April 30.
Police questioned Thiyagarajan, an accused in the murder of Sharadha's husband, Gunavel, in 2018, and he confessed to the murder. A detailed interrogation revealed the roles of all six accused, said the police, who arrested Thiyagarajan on May 1 and four others on May 2. Sharadha, who was absconding since her return, was arrested on Sunday.
Sigamani's body, which was buried as that of an unidentified man after a post-mortem at Palamapuram burial ground in Karur, was exhumed on Saturday and a second post-mortem was performed on the remains.