Coimbatore man murders estranged wife, posts selfie as WhatsApp status

A 32-year-old man brutally hacked his estranged wife at a women's hostel and posted his selfie with her body as WhatsApp status, police said on Monday.

The incident left the inmates of the private women's hostel shocked, and it also triggered a political outrage with the opposition parties raising questions on women's safety.

The man remained at the hostel till the police arrived and he was taken into custody on Sunday, an official said.

The 28-year-old woman, police said, was working at a private firm in Coimbatore, and was living in a private women's hostel following separation from her husband. She hailed from Tharuvai near Melapalayam in the southern district of Tirunelveli.

Her husband, S Balamurugan, went to her hostel on Sunday afternoon under the pretext of meeting her and later hacked her to death with a sickle following a heated exchange of words, police said.

He later took a selfie of himself with her corpse and uploaded it as his WhatsApp status, claiming she betrayed him, the official said.

Due to a dispute with him, the woman left their two children under the care of her mother in Coimbatore and moved into a hostel.

The Rathinapuri police have registered a case and are investigating.