CHENNAI: A 35-year-old man is suspected to have murdered his mother over a property dispute.
The 60-year-old woman was on phone with her daughter when she was attacked.
Hearing her screams, the daughter alerted a relative who rushed to the spot to find her dead.
The deceased, Rathinam, was a resident of Besant Nagar. She was married to Kulandaivelu, a former Member of Parliament from Tiruchengode. Her son Praveen, who is suspected to have murdered her, left for London 13 years ago. He studied there and was working there till recently.
“Praveen arrived last month. He was staying at their family’s beach view house in Besant Nagar sixth avenue,” a police officer said.
“Rathinam was staying in her daughter’s house in Tirupur. She arrived in city on Sunday morning, allegedly after a heated argument with her son over the phone the previous day.”
The house was locked when she arrived. She used her keys to open and was cleaning when the incident happened.
“Her daughter Sudha had called. They were talking over the phone when the doorbell rang. When Rathinam opened the door, Praveen, who was waiting outside, attacked her,” the officer said.
“He had tied her up using packing tape and had stabbed her in the chest, several times, with a sharp object. There was an electric wire around her neck. We are trying to ascertain if he tried to strangulate her using it,” the officer added.
‘Son wanted mom to sell off ancestral property’
"There is a popular restaurant near the house and people park bikes just in front of the house. But, as she was attacked inside the house, nobody knew of the crime. The deceased, Rathinam, was a resident of Besant Nagar. She was married to Kulandaivelu, a former Member of Parliament from Tiruchengode. Her son Praveen, who is suspected to have murdered her, left for London 13 years ago.
He studied there and was working there till recently, although none of his relatives know what he was actually doing in London.
"In the last 13 years, I have seen him just thrice," says one relative.
"He came when his sister got married, then when his father passed away. However, a few months back, he told his mother that he would be coming to India." The family suspects he returned for his share in the family property.
Including his sister, none seem to know what Praveen was doing in London after studies. Some thought he was a professor. Others say they heard he ran a business.
Praveen, police say, wanted his mother to sell off their ancestral property at Uthupalayam, in Salem, and their house in Chennai to meet his financial needs. It was amidst this ongoing property dispute that Praveen came to Chennai.
It is claimed that Praveen was married to a Lithuanian woman, but none from his family attended the marriage. The police have launched a manhunt for Praveen.
Mystery over suspect
None in the family, not even Praveen’s sister, know what he was doing in London. Some thought he was a professor, while others heard he was running a business there