COIMBATORE: A 34-year-old man was arrested for murdering his neighbour by hitting him with a cricket bat over a petty quarrel in Coimbatore on Sunday night.

Police said Manikandan, a construction worker from Tenkasi, visited his parents’ house in Gandhi Nagar near Sulur to see his children, who came for the vacation. He got separated from his wife while his two children were studying by staying in a hostel in Sankarankovil.

Police said Manikandan had previous enmity with his neighbour Arumugam alias Sikkander (47), also a construction worker and a native of Sholavandan in Madurai.

“Manikandan was watching the IPL cricket match along with his children on a television kept outside his home when Arumugam also came to watch. He then scolded Manikandan’s children, resulting in a heated quarrel, which snowballed into a fistfight between them,” police said.

A furious Manikandan picked up a cricket bat from inside his house and beat Arumugam to death. He then dragged his body for around 300 metres and dumped it along Pappampatti- Selakaraisal Road.

On receiving the information, the Sulur police rushed to the spot and sent the body of the deceased for a post-mortem at the ESI Hospital. After a search, the Sulur police nabbed the accused, who was produced in court and remanded in judicial custody.