A 26-year-old pregnant woman named Ramya from Poochurai near Aariyur in Dharmapuri district died after an illegal abortion attempt, police said.

Her husband Kannan had claimed she died from a fall on December 1, but relatives raised suspicion and filed a complaint at Aariyur police station.

Police investigations found that Kannan, already father to two daughters, planned an unlawful procedure after finding out the third-month foetus was a girl. With two accomplices — nurse Sugnaya (35) and broker Vanitha (35) — he took Ramya to a private scan centre and then arranged for an abortion at home, police said.

During the illegal procedure, Ramya suffered heavy bleeding and was rushed to Salem Government Medical College Hospital. She was later being transferred to a private hospital in Coimbatore when she died en route.

Based on the findings, police arrested Kannan, Sugnaya and Vanitha on charges related to the illegal abortion.