Woman murdered by grandson

The 19-year-old was provoked as the woman had accused him of stealing money from her

A 68-year-old woman was murdered by her grandson at her home in Govindapuram, Arudhathinagar, in Otteri on Thursday.

The suspect was provoked as the victim had often accused him of stealing money from her house and recently, the police said, abused him for stealing Rs. 400.

The police said the victim, R. Munniyammal, a native of Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, was a widow. She ran a chit fund in the neighbourhood and made small drums for a living. Her two sons, R. Thirupal (48), an autorickshaw driver, and R. Ekkabaram (45), a shoemaker, are married and reside on the ground floor of the two-storey house.

On Thursday, around 11.15 a.m., one of the victim’s neighbours, S. Amarvathi, concerned as the former had not come out since the morning, went to her house. Amarvathi found the door ajar, and when she looked in, saw Munniyammal lying on the bed with her throat slit and blood stains around the bed. Immediately, she raised an alarm and Munniyammal’s family members and neighbours rushed her to Government Stanley Hospital where doctors declared her ‘brought dead’.

A special police team led by P. Loganathan, assistant commissioner of police (Pulianthope), inspected the crime scene. The team later arrested 19-year-old T. Shivakumar, who is the eldest son of Thirupal. “We zeroed in on him after neighbours and family members said the deceased and her grandson often quarrelled. When questioned, he confessed to murdering his grandmother,” said investigating officer and inspector, Otteri police, V. Alexander.

The police said Shivakumar, who works in a milk shop in the neighbourhood, had allegedly stolen money from his grandmother to meet expenses. On several occasions, she had warned him not to steal from her and even asked him not to come to her house. She had told neighbours about his habit and that had angered Shivakumar. Estranged from his parents, a month ago, Shivakumar had left his house and moved into a relative’s house in the city.

On Thursday, around 4 a.m., he entered his grandmother’s house while she was sleeping, took a knife from the kitchen, slit her throat and fled, the police said.

A case of murder under section 302 of IPC was registered by the Otteri police.