The Special Court for Bomb Blast Cases here convicted a man on Friday for attempting to murder his mother. However, he could not be convicted for her death as she died a month later and the cause of her death could not be proved.
Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) of the court J. Amalanathan said that the accused M. Kanagaraj (41) of Thalavaipalayam near Anamalai was the only son of Mayilsamy Gounder (65) and Chellammal (60). Kanagaraj was an alcoholic and often quarrelled with his father demanding for himself a seven acre coconut grove at Thalavaipalayam that belonged to Mayilsamy Gounder.
Kanagaraj was arrested on the charges of murdering his father on April 2, 2012. The case is still pending before the Third Additional District Judge, in Coimbatore. Though Chellammal obtained bail for Kanagaraj, he quarrelled with her demanding that she give him the coconut grove and attacked her on the head with a sickle (at their house) on December 11, 2012.
Chellammal was hospitalised for a few days and sent home following the attack. Kottur Police arrested Kanagaraj and he is in jail since. Meanwhile on January 28, 2013, Chellammal fell down in the bathroom of her house and succumbed to head injuries. It could not be proved that she died due to injuries she suffered in the attempt on her life. As a setback in the case, three eye witnesses also turned hostile. “But, Kanagaraj’s wife K. Dhanalakshmi (32) told the court that her husband had indeed attacked her mother-in-law and this helped in convicting the man,” the APP said.
In the judgment, R. Sakthivel (in-charge of the Special Court) sentenced the man to seven years imprisonment for attempt to murder and six months for threatening witnesses. A fine of Rs. 5,500 was also imposed on Kanagaraj.
He could not be convicted for his mother's death as she died a month later
