MADURAI: Mayor C. Ramachandran was arrested in Tiruchi early on Sunday, in connection with the road accident in which a Bharatiya Janata Party Councillor, R. Pandiselvi alias Pandeeswari, was killed on the city outskirts.

He was brought here and interrogated by the police for several hours. Mr. Ramachandran, who belongs to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, is believed to have admitted that he was behind the wheel at the time of the accident near Chinna Udaippu on Tuesday.

According to police sources, the Mayor said that he happened to see Pandeeswari waiting at a bus stop on Ring Road and gave her a lift. (He had told newsmen after the accident that the councillor had borrowed the car for a personal trip.)

The Mayor, who was brought to Madurai this morning, could not be interrogated till noon as district police officers were busy with security arrangements for the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa's visit to Pasumpon in Ramanathapuram district in connection with Muthuramalinga Thevar's guru puja.

When contacted, Superintendent of Police T. Sundaresan refused to reveal when Mr. Ramachandran would be produced before a judicial officer for remand.

The interrogation was continuing till late in the night.

Police sources said Pandeeswari's husband Ramesh, who had alleged in a TV interview that his wife was murdered, was not coming forward to lodge a formal complaint despite repeated requests.

Earlier, the Tiruchi city police picked up Mr. Ramachandran from TVS Toll Gate at 3.40 a.m.

Based on a tip-off that he was likely to leave the city at 3.30 a.m., a police team was on the lookout for him.

According to a police officer, Mr. Ramachandran said that he had been staying at a friend's residence in Tiruchi for the past couple of days.

He had avoided using the mobile phone knowing that his location could be traced.

Before being sent to Madurai, the Mayor told the Tiruchi police that his plan to surrender before a Madurai court on Friday was thwarted due to heavy police presence.

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