The Kozhikode Medical College police on Monday arrested a 29-year-old man for allegedly murdering his father at their residence in Velliparambu. The deceased was identified as Sasidharan M, 64. The accused, his eldest son Abhiram M, was arrested in connection with the case.

According to a complaint filed by Sasidharan's younger son, Akshay, the incident occurred at around 12.45 am on Monday. Akshay alleged that Abhiram returned home under the influence and killed his father. While the complaint states that Abhiram struck Sasidharan on the head with a wooden stick, the police said the exact cause of death was yet to be determined.

"We know that he murdered his father, but we don't know how," the police told Onmanorama. "Preliminary investigations revealed no injury marks on the victim's body, so we cannot say for certain that he was struck on the head," the police said.

Officials said the body would be sent for a post-mortem examination later in the day after the inquest proceedings were completed. The exact cause of death is expected to be determined following the examination.

According to the police, Abhiram habitually returned home under the influence, often in an impaired state. Officials said he appeared to be in a severely disoriented mental state when he was taken into custody and was unable to recognise his father. They added that the circumstances surrounding the alleged murder were under investigation.

The police have booked Abhiram under Sections 103(1) (murder) and 118(2) (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. He will be produced before a magistrate later on Monday.