Woman kills self as spy plan flops

COIMBATORE: A young housewife’s unintended game plan to spy on her estranged husband, who was suspected to be doting on another woman, and extort money to secure her child’s future went awry, prompting her to commit suicide in Coimbatore on Wednesday. Police said 34-year-old software engineer Anandbabu of Periyanaickenpalayam, who had an estranged relationship with his wife Jayanthi, was allegedly having an affair with a woman.Apprehending that she would not be able to financially secure her only child’s future due to Anandbabu’s indulgence with his lady love,  Jayanthi had sought her brother Saravanan’s intervention in the matter. “Saravanan approached one of his friends Jayabal for help who, in turn, suggested that he engage the services of a private detective, Surya alias Gowtham, to spy on the software engineer. But, when the two met Surya, he came up with another game plan of ‘abducting’ Anandbabu,” said Inspector M Lakshmanan of Periayanickenpalayam police station.Surya along with five accomplices decided to pose as ‘Intelligence Bureau Special Police Officers’ wearing khaki uniform and ‘abduct’ Anandbabu. Jayanthi fell for the idea. On September 25, the gang kidnapped Anandbabu and forced his family into parting with `15 lakh to secure his release.“The abduction did not come to light for over a month as Anandbabu and his family believed that those who had extorted money were IB officers. However, during a recent fracas with Jayanthi, Saravanan had reportedly blurted out that IB officers would visit the family once again. This was a give away and Anandbabu began to suspect that his wife could have been behind his abduction and he lodged a complaint with us on Tuesday,” a police source said. As the police began questioning, Jayanthi apprehended arrest and on Wednesday she committed suicide at her house.While police has arrested Saravanan, Surya, Madan Kumar, Jayabal, Rajaram and Udayakumar on charges of abduction and extortion, they have also booked Anandbabu and his lady love for abetting Jayanthi’s suicide.