A gang of armed assailants, who came searching for a youth, hacked his 52-year-old father to death at Marayamuttam near Neyyatinkara on Tuesday night.
The deceased has been identified as Satheesh Kumar of S A Nivas, Chulliyoor, Marayamuttam. Two others, Ajayakumar, 40 and Arun Kumar alias Kannan, 28, suffered serious injuries in the attack.
According to police, Sanoop, the son of Satheesh Kumar, was the actual target of the gang that had at least 15 members. They attacked the others as Sanoop was not at home when they arrived. Ajayakumar is the brother-in-law of the deceased and Arun Kumar, their neighbour. They were admitted to the Medical College Hospital. Though Satheesh was taken to Neyyatinkara District Hospital, he was declared dead.
The attack took place when Satheesh Kumar and Ajayakumar were sitting inside a garage built near their house. The assailants used sharp weapons and Arun Kumar was attacked by the gang on their way to Satheesh’s house.
Ajayakumar is differently-abled and was living with his parents at Aruvippuram. He had recently moved in with Satheesh’s family after his father was admitted to hospital with age-related ailments.
A few weeks ago, Sanoop and Arun Kumar, along with some other friends, had picked up a fight with a group of people at the venue of a marriage. A police case exists against Sanoop and Arun Kumar in this regard. It is suspected that those people might have assigned the assailants to attack Sanoop in retaliation for that incident.
Neyyatinkara police have taken one person into custody in connection with the incident and it is learnt that about 15 individuals took part in the attack. ‘’We have identified almost all of them. Among them, only two are having criminal background,’’ the police said.
The cremation of Satheesh Kumar was held on Wednesday after post-mortem. Satheesh is survived by wife Anitha and Anoop, his second son, besides Sanoop.