Pandalam: A 52-year-old man has been arrested for killing a woman and dumping her body along the roadside at Kurampala village of Pandalam in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district.

Madhusoodhanan, a resident of Adoor, has been arrested over the murder of Attathodu native Susheela, 58. The accused is the second husband of the deceased.

They had been living for two years at Parayantayam area of Kurampala.

Police version

The police said the couple were tappers who got acquainted at the Laha rubber estate two years ago and got married.

Madhusoodhanan sold off his home at Pannivizha and started living at Kurampala. Susheela received Rs 3 lakh when she retired from her job at the Kerala Forest Development Corporation at Attathodu. Of this, Rs 2 lakh was used to buy the plot at Parayantayam. Both of them frequently got into altercation and fought over the remaining amount, according to the police.

During a fight on Tuesday night, Madhusudhoonan hit Susheela on the head with a rod and stabbed her with a tapping knife. Susheela suffered grievous injuries and died.

Madhusudhoonan then put the body in a sack, took it in his autorickshaw and dumped it along a bylane near the Edayadi Junction at Kurampala around 5am on Wednesday, according to the police.

The local people found the body on the morning of December 16. The police initiated a probe over the incident.