COIMBATORE: A 23-year-old man was arrested for murdering his friend over comments about his love affair, on Friday, at Ganapathy in Coimbatore.
The police said the deceased, identified as E Sivakumar (20), a native of Theni, was beaten to death using a dumbbell on Thursday night, when he was asleep. The incident took place at Third Street of KRG Nagar in Ganapathy.
According to the police, on Friday morning, Sivakumar's neighbours found him dead, lying in a pool of blood with his skull broken, in his rented room. His roommate Manikandan (23), a car mechanic, from Palathurai was found missing.
Having received information about the affair, the police rushed to the spot with forensic experts who found a dumbbell with bloodstains at the crime scene.
According to the police, on Thursday night, the youth had consumed alcohol. It was then Sivakumar, a car driver by trade, had reportedly cut his forearm using a blade in memory of his girlfriend.
Upon witnessing the event, Manikandan had allegedly teased Sivakumar about his love, leading to a heated argument that eventually resulted in Sivakumar issuing threats to his roommate.
After the car driver went to sleep, the mechanic beat him to death using a dumbbell.
The Saravanampatti police booked a case and arrested Manikandan on Friday afternoon. The body of the deceased was sent to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) for a postmortem examination.