Three people, including two women, were arrested on 5th March for the heinous murder of a woman and the subsequent disposal of her body in Shevaroy Hills of the Salem area, sending shock waves in the entire area. The victim was identified as Loganayagi (Albiya after her conversion) whose life was brutally ended by 22-year-olds Abdul Hafeez, Dhaviya (or Kaviya) Sultana and 21-year-old Monisha.
Loganayagi, who was from Thuraiyur in the Trichy district, had been staying at a private dormitory close to the new bus stop in Salem. The hostel warden filed a report with the Pallapatti Police after she went missing for four days. The authorities then found a body under the 60-foot bridge on the ghat road during the course of the investigation. They also discovered an ID in her purse with the name Loganayagi on it, even though the picture on the ID showed her in a burqa.
Investigators tracked down her final known phone conversation to a young man in Trichy after conducting additional probe. Her phone was turned off at the Ghat Road that leads to Yercaud (a town in Tamil Nadu) shortly after the conversation ended. Abdul Hafeez, a Perambalur-based engineering student was identified as the caller. He was arrested and he then admitted to a four year long relationship with the deceased during the interrogation. Reportedly, Hafeez even persuaded her to convert to Islam after meeting her on Instagram with the promise of marriage. Meanwhile, he was also seeing an IT professional, Dhaviya Sultana.
Loganayagi had been under pressure from Hafeez to embrace Islam for marriage. Under pressure Loganayagi not only complied, but also started wearing a burqa to work. Loganayagi was devoted to Hafeez, but he only tried to use her for his own selfish reasons. Loganayaki eventually discovered that Hafeez was starting to get close to other women, which resulted in frequent arguments between the pair. She made the decision to stop speaking to him after realizing she had been duped. Hafeez later claimed to have acknowledged his fault and stated that he would marry Loganayagi, to make amends.
However, Hafeez planned Loganayagi’s murder with his girlfriend Dhaviya and their mutual acquaintance Monisha. On 1st March, the trio headed to Salem, leased a self-drive car and brought Loganayagi with them. Afterward, they injected her with poison using a syringe, dropped her body into a 20-foot gorge and drove to a 60-foot bridge on the ghat road before escaping from there. The decaying corpse was later spotted by the authorities, who sent it for an examination at Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College and Hospital. All three individuals were taken into custody after a case was filed.
