TUTICORIN: A 17-year-old girl and one of her male friends have been arrested for murdering her mother. The dead was a 35-year-old woman, a temporary health worker. Police said the body had injuries on her nose, cheeks and legs.

The police got a call from the girl saying that someone had murdered her mother on Saturday night. When Tuticorin south police reached the spot, she was sitting next to the body of the mother which was lying in a pool of blood.

When questioned, she broke down and told the police that her mother tried to push her into prostitution and so she decided to murder her.

The girl had dropped out of a diploma course from a polytechnic college. When her mother scolded her for this, she invited two of her male friends Kannan (22) and Thanga Kumar (28) of Mullakadu and murdered her.

The girl and Kannan have been arrested but Thanga Kumar is absconding. The police are investigating the reason for the murder.

The girl is the eldest of four children. She has two sisters aged 14 and 13 and four-year-old brother. The couple had separated a year ago. Her siblings are with her father.