Elderly couple, neighbour injured after 'mentally ill' youth attacks them with machete in Kasaragod

Kasaragod: Three people, including an elderly couple, were injured after a 30-year-old man, reportedly under medication for mental illness, attacked them with a machete at Attenganam in Kodom-Belur panchayat on Saturday morning.

According to the Ambalathara police, the injured persons were Raghavan Nair (72), his wife Indira (65), and their neighbour Yadu Chandran (28), who rushed to rescue them. Yadu was admitted to a private hospital at Mavungal near Kanhangad, while Raghavan and Indira were taken to Kannur Government Medical College Hospital at Pariyaram. All three suffered injuries to their hands. Raghavan suffered a deep wound to his left elbow that cut through the bone and extended about 10cm into his forearm.

Police said the assailant, Sajith, who is from the same neighbourhood, entered the couple's house at Vellamunda and attacked them. He first hacked Raghavan. When Indira came running after hearing the commotion, she too was attacked. Yadu was injured when he tried to intervene after hearing the couple's cries.

Sajith threw stones at residents and threatened them with the machete when they tried to subdue him.

Ambalathara Police said Sajith had a history of mental illness. "He is on medication. We have taken him to hospital for a medical examination. Later, we will produce him before the court for further directions," police said.

​Police handled the arrest without further escalation despite the presence of an agitated crowd. Video footage shows Sajith holding the machete and speaking to the police when Ambalathara SI M Savyasachi and SI Jayakrishnan approached him. The officers kept him engaged in conversation, maintained their distance and eventually took him into custody.

When a person from the crowd struck Sajith, the officers immediately warned the crowd against taking the law into their own hands.