Palakkad: A drunk man hacked his father to death with an axe following a petty domestic altercation at their house near Cherpulassery here on Tuesday night. The deceased is Chalavara Chirayil Colony resident Karuppan (73). Police arrested his youngest son Subhash (38) over the murder.
The neighbours and police said that both persons were in an inebriated state when the altercation began.
“Karuppan and Subhash used to quarrel with each other every day on petty issues. However, we ran towards their house after hearing Karuppan crying for help around 8.45 pm. When I reached Karuppan's house, he was lying in a pool of blood in the courtyard of their house and Subhash had fled the scene. Karuppan’s wife Ammukkutty was calling out for help standing at the front door. I immediately called an ambulance, but by the time they reached the spot, Karuppan breathed his last. He was hacked on the neck and forehead,” said Salam, a neighbour.
Chirayil Colony is a thickly populated residential area having 18 houses each in 3-4 cents of land. The murder literally silenced the colony.
“Like any other place, we rarely come across petty quarrels. But this is the first time such an incident has taken place in our locality. Karuppan is a very calm person, and so is Subhash,” said Babu, another neighbour, who finds to absorb the incident even after hours.
Cherupulassery police reached the spot in an hour and took Subhash into custody from a nearby hideout place. Subhash, a painter by profession, is unmarried. Though he a drunkard, he has no previous criminal records, confirmed police.
Karuppan who used to be a daily wage worker was residing in his ancestral home with his wife Ammukkutty and Subhash. The couple’s elder sons Sudhakaran and Suresh are residing nearby in separate houses. Their daughters Sujatha, Sunitha and Sumitha are married off.
"His body has been taken to Palakkad district Hospital for post-mortem procedures. Cherpulassery police said that inquest formalities will be completed on Wednesday itself and the accused will be produced before the court after recording his arrest," said police.
