Thanjavur: A 20-year-old woman was found murdered in a forest area near Thanjavur today, with signs of sexual and physical assaults on the body. The police have arrested the deceased woman’s lover and his friend in this connection.

The victim, Kalaiselvi, was living with her maternal aunt at Saliyamangalam village near Coimbatore, after her mother died a few years ago. Her father, Rajendran, was working at the office of Assistant Elementary Education Officer (AEEO), in Madukkur.

Kalaiselvi, who went out yesterday evening, did not return home till late night. Her aunt tried to look for her, but Kalaiselvi was nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, her half-naked lifeless body was found in the forest area in the village this morning. On being informed, SP Mahesh and DSP Selvaraj rushed to the spot and inspected the scene of crime.

Preliminary inquiry revealed that Kalaiselvi was in an illicit relationship with a parotta master named Raja, alias Rangarajan (32), a married man living in the same village.

Police secured Raja and interrogated him. Raja confessed that he used to meet Kalaiselvi frequently. On his invitation, she met Raja yesterday evening at the forest, where they had a sexual intercourse. Then, much to her shock, Raja’s friend Kumar, who had been hiding there, came out and demanded that she have sex with him too. When she refused, both Raja and Kumar beat her up, strangled her to death with her dupatta (shawl), and fled from there.

Ammapettai police registered a case and arrested both Raja and Kumar for sexually assaulting and murdering Kalaiselvi.