Two weeks after human body parts were found in a dumpyard in Chennai, police, on Wednesday, arrested 51-year-old director-producer S.R. Balakrishnan for allegedly killing his wife Sandhya, 35. A 'Siva Parvathy' tattoo on Sandhya's right arm proved to be the vital clue that helped police zero down on the identity of the victim and the murderer.
"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 head and torso.
Sandhya hailed from Thoothukudi in the state. A missing compliant was filed two days ago by her mother at the Thotthukkudi police station. This led to the breakthrough in the case. The complaint mentioned a 'Siva Parvathy' tattoo on the right arm of Sandhya as identification mark. The body parts were sent for autopsy. 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.
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, 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 a sharp object, leading to her death.
