Drunk son stabs mother to death over property dispute

Police said that the accused, Barnabas (36), was a cab driver for high profile persons, but had lost his job allegedly due to alcoholism. His mother, the victim, Raniammal(52), was living in one portion of a house on Maniammai Street in Palavakkam along with Barnabas. While the house measured about 800 sq.ft., Raniammal’s share of the property was 450sq.ft.

After her husband Gnanaprakasam died five years ago, Raniammal wanted to give the portion she was occupying to her daughter Veniammal, who lives in Injambakkam. However, Barnabas was not in favour of the plan and often quarrelled with his mother over this. Last week too, there was a quarrel between the mother and son after Veniammal visited her mother.

On Monday night, yet another fight broke out between them. This time, Baranabas, who was under the influence of alcohol, stabbed Raniammal with a knife,killing her on the spot. Based on a complaint by Veniammal, Neelankarai police registered a case and arrested Barnabas. Raniammal’s body was sent to Government Royapettah Hospital for postmortem examination.

Police said that Barnabas’ family originally hails from Karnataka, who had settled in the city several years ago. The accused used to be a driver for some VIPs including MLAs. However, he lost his job recently due to alcohol addiction, leaving him without a stable income. He is married and has three children, police added.

Raniammalhas four children, two sons and two daughters. While her oldest son is settled in Bengaluru, the second son, Barnabas, and two sisters live in the city.