Coimbatore: A 24-year-old man was arrested on Monday for murdering an elderly woman at her residence in the city and robbing her gold ornaments on Saturday.Police have identified the accused as Ranjith Kumar, 24, from Theni district. He was running a laundry shop on 80 feet Road near Ramanathapuram in the city. The deceased, Gomathi, 69, used to give her clothes to him for laundry. He would visit her house to collect and deliver the clothes. Police said he had noted that the elderly woman was living alone. On Saturday, when he went to collect clothes for laundry, he took advantage of the situation and strangled her to death, before fleeing with the jewellery she was wearing.Police identified the accused with the help of CCTV camera footage from the apartment complex and nearby main roads. They subsequently traced his mobile phone signal and found that he was in Rameswaram. A special police team rushed to Rameswaram and secured him on Monday.During interrogation, he confessed to the crime and said he stole the gold to clear his debts. Preliminary investigation revealed that he had mortgaged the stolen jewels for 1.5 lakh and gone on a trip to Rameswaram with his wife, where he was arrested.Further investigation is underway.
