IDUKKI: In a blood curdling incident, an elderly man set his house on fire and locked the doors from outside to ensure the death of his son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren. The incident occurred at Cheenikuzhi near Thodupuzha in the district, in the wee hours of Saturday.
Hameed (79) of Aliyakkunnel in Cheenikkuzhi was detained by neighbours who handed him over to Thodupuzha police on Saturday morning. The bodies of Muhammed Faizal (49), his wife Sheeba (39), daughters Mehru (16) and Asna (13) will be shifted to Thodupuzha district hospital for postmortem after completing inquest proceedings.
A property dispute led to the murder, said a police officer. According to a neighbour, Hameed threw petrol into the bedroom of Faizal after ensuring that the family had gone to bed. He locked the doors from outside to stop the family from escaping and had drained the water from water tank.
Though Faizal woke up and rang up a neighbour for help, Hameed threatened to set on fire anyone who approached the house. The neighbours alerted the police, but by the time rescue team arrived, it was late. Hameed was staying with his second wife for the past several years. Recently he returned home to stay with Faizal after his second wife deserted him.
However, there was a long standing dispute over the family share given to Faizal. The local mosque authorities and the family members had held talks to settle the issue amicably, but in vain.
Planned brutal murder
On Friday night, as Faizal and his family went to bed, Hameed locked the door from outside, drained water from the water tank and snapped power cables. Later he opened the window of Faizal's room, poured petrol into their room and set the room ablaze.
Seeing the fire spreading, Faizal had sought help from his neighbour over phone. However when a neighbour rushed to Faizal’s house, Hameed who was standing in front of the house, threatened him.
Though Faizal and his family tried to collect water from the bathroom to douse the fire, the taps had gone dry. Later the fire was extinguished a team of fire and rescue personnel and the police from the Karimannoor police station.