MADURAI: Tamil writer A Soundarapandian alias Sowba who was languishing in Madurai Central prison for killing his 27-year-old son over property dispute died due to ill health at the Government Rajaji Hospital here in the wee hours on Monday. A renowned writer, Sowba (56) had penned scripts for a few films including ‘Seevalaperi Pandi’ and he also ran a television production house in the city. He and his wife Latha Poornam, who works as the Principal of the Government Arts College in Kovilpatti have been living separately for the last 14 years.
The couple’s only son S Vibin (27) was living alternatively with both the parents. When Vibin did not return to his mother’s house in Kovilpatti on April 30, she lodged a complaint with S S Colony police on May 5, raising suspicion that Sowba could have killed him. During an interrogation, Sowba confessed.
According to police, Vibin had sold Sowba’s car and it created a rift between the two. Also, there existed a strained relationship between the father and son over property as well. On the day of the murder, a verbal duel ensued that later snowballed into a fight, and Sowba assaulted Vibin to death. After bundling Vipin’s body in his car, Sowba drove it to his farmhouse in Palapatti in Dindigul district and disposed it with the help of his servants.
Later, Sowba was remanded and lodged at the Madurai Central Prison. A diabetic patient, he was admitted to the GRH on May 25. He was again rushed to the hospital with chest pain on Sunday when he slipped into coma. In the wee hours on Monday, he breathed his last.