A 22-year-old man allegedly raped and killed a woman by giving her poison-laced soft drink near Pollachi here in Tamil Nadu, police said today.
The middle-aged married woman, hailing from Thrissur in Kerala, was found lying in a bush a couple of days ago and was rushed to a government hospital at Pollachi, some 35 km from here, in a serious condition, they said.
Preliminary investigations revealed that she had come to Palani with a man from Kerala, Sajith, who is absconding, police said.
After reaching Pollachi, he took her to an isolated place and gave her poison-laced soft drink. He left her there in a semi-conscious state after raping and relieving her of gold ornaments, police said.
The woman died in the hospital this morning and the body was sent for post-mortem, they said.
A manhunt is on for Sajith, police said.
