Palakkad: A murder accused, who was out on bail, hacked to death a mother and her son living in his neighborhood. The brutal murder in broad daylight took place in Pothundi under the Nenmara police station limits in Palakkad district. The victims have been identified as Meenakshi, also known as Lakshmi, aged 72, and her son Sudhakaran aged 53. Both of them were allegedly hacked to death outside their residence.
Police said the crime is suspected to have been committed by Chenthamara, aged 57, the neighbor of the victims, who was released on bail after being jailed for allegedly killing Sudhakaran's wife Sajitha in 2019. He was released on bail one and half month ago. Lakshmi was allegedly attacked when she tried to prevent Chenthamara from attacking Sudhakaran. While Sudhakaran died on the spot, his mother passed away while being taken to hospital, police said.
According to police, Chenthamara had been harbouring animosity towards Sudhakaran's family, as he believed that his wife and children left him due to the family's interference. They said an investigation has been launched to trace Chenthamara, who fled the scene after the incident. The bodies of the deceased have been shifted to Palakkad District Hospital.
Nenmara MLA K Babu said that the accused Chenthamara had been behaving suspiciously for quite some time. After committing the crime, the accused fled to the mountains, he said. The MLA said that the police and locals have reached a distance where they could locate the accused who will be arrested soon.
Locals said Chenthamara repeatedly threatened to kill Sudhakaran and Meenakshi After being released from jail. Locals also said that although they had filed a complaint with the police about the death threats, they had not received any protection from the police. Locals, who alleged negligence on the part of the police, blocked the police when they arrived at the crime scene to conduct the inquest. This led to a long altercation between the police and the locals.
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