The police on Wednesday (May 20) arrested a woman on the charge of beating her husband to death at their rented house at Somayanur in Coimbatore district late on Tuesday. The suspect was identified as K. Revathi (34), who worked as a domestic help in an apartment at Saibaba Colony.

The police said that her husband S. Karthik (42), who originally hailed from Rathinapuri in Coimbatore city, was a wall painter. He got married to Revathi 14 years ago, and the couple has two children aged 12 and nine. They had been residing at Somayanur for the past one and a half years.

According to police, Karthik quarrelled frequently with Revathi over the past several days, demanding money to buy liquor. Revathi told police that Karthik demanded and collected ₹200 from her when she returned home from work around 4 p.m. on Tuesday. He went out and returned home drunk around 7 p.m. He demanded more money for drinking around 9.15 p.m. and went out again. Karthik returned home around 9.45 p.m. in an intoxicated state, following which the couple had a quarrel, the police said.

According to the police, Revathi assaulted Karthik with a wooden pounding stick from the kitchen, after pushing him down. Karthik suffered severe injuries on his head, face and above the right eyebrow, resulting in heavy bleeding. He fell unconscious.

Revathi later informed one of her relatives, who in turn alerted the 108 ambulance service. The ambulance crew examined Karthik upon their arrival and found him dead, said the police.

The Thadagam police arrived at the spot after being alerted about the murder and detained Revathi. She was arrested and remanded in judicial custody on Wednesday.