Madurai LIC office fire: Death of woman officer turns out to be colleague’s murder plot

In a shocking twist, the Madurai LIC office fire ‘accident’ in which a senior woman officer was charred to death last month, has turned out to be murder plot orchestrated by her colleague, who sustained burn injuries.

On December 17, 2025, A. Kalyani Nambi, a 56-year-old senior officer, was charred in a fire at the LIC office in West Perumal Maistry Street and 46-year-old D. Ram, an assistant administrative officer, sustained burn injuries.

Vengeance

Following investigations, the Madurai City Police unravelled it to be a murder plot and arrested Ram on Monday (January 19, 2026). The police said the accused had conspired to eliminate the senior branch manager after she reprimanded him for not clearing over 40 death claims for long.

The plot

As insurance agents complained to her, Kalyani had instructed Ram to clear all the files in a time-bound manner. Ram, who had to slog for longer hours every day, had planned to destroy the death claim files.

On December 17 night, when Ram and Kalyani were at office after all other staff had left for home, Ram doused the files in Kalyani’s chamber with petrol and set them on fire. As he locked her chamber from inside, Kalyani got trapped inside the room and subsequently got charred. However, he too was caught in the flames as petrol had accidentally spilled on him when he poured it on the files.

Suspicion

Even though the police had initially bought the theory of accidental fire, they grew suspicious when Ram tried to fabricate a story that a masked man had robbed the woman officer of her jewels at the office and set her on fire.

Meanwhile, Kalyani’s son had told that police she had called him over phone just minutes before the fire and asked him to alert the police. But, she could not give him a clear picture of what had transpired in the office.

Arrest

A thorough investigation revealed the pre-meditated motive of Ram. Meanwhile, the police have also gathered scientific evidence against the accused. Ram, who has been still recuperating from burn injuries, was arrested at his house on Monday night and admitted to the Government Rajaji Hospital.