S Devi

CHENNAI: A 42-year-old television actor beat her former boyfriend to death, smashing his head with a log and a hammer at her sister’s house at Kolathur in the early hours of Monday, allegedly after he insisted that she resume their relationship, police said.

While the actor, S Devi, later surrendered, police, after an inquiry, also arrested her husband B Sankar, her sister S Lakshmi and Lakshmi’s husband Sawariyar, 53, and charged them with the murder of M Ravi, 38, a film technician. A court has sent all the four accused to jail.

Eight years ago, Ravi, a native of Madurai who lived and worked in Chennai, befriended Devi, who played small roles in TV serials, and the two began a relationship, a police officer said.

About two years ago, her husband Sankar and other family members came to know of her affair and convinced her to sever ties with Ravi, the officer said.

They bought her a sewing machine and she began a tailoring business on a small scale while continuing to act in television serials. Devi’s husband Sankar runs a furniture shop in Teynampet.

On Sunday, Ravi began a search for Devi and managed to trace her to Kolathur where she lived and had her business. Around 1.30am, Ravi went to the residence of Devi’s sister Lakshmi, 40, in the same neighbourhood, and demanded that she help him reunite with Devi. Lakshmi then called her sister over phone. Devi and her husband Sankar rushed to the house.

Seeing Devi, Ravi made the same demand and an argument erupted, the officer said. The woman then attacked Ravi with logs and smashed his head with a hammer. After Ravi collapsed, bleeding profusely, Devi went to the Rajamangalam police station and confessed to killing Ravi..

A team of personnel rushed to Lakshmi’s house and sent Ravi to the Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival. After a case of murder was registered and Devi was arrested, further investigations by police revealed that Sankar, Lakshmi and her husband Sawariya wera also involved in the attack on Ravi leading to his death.

