CHENNAI: A guest worker from Bihar was arrested for murdering a 61-year-old man in Purasawalkam and escaping with five sovereigns of gold jewellery and silver articles from the deceased's home on Friday night.
The deceased, N Balakrishnan, a native of Maharashtra, lived alone in Arasappa Street and worked at a garment store in Anna Nagar. His wife died in 2024, and the couple had no children, police said.
On Friday night, Balakrishnan's nephew, Vignesh, who lives with his family in the same compound as the deceased, checked on his uncle as phone calls were unanswered. Vignesh found the front door locked and blood stains near the door, after which he looked through the window and found his uncle unconscious.
Based on the alert, the Vepery police rushed to the scene and moved Balakrishnan to a hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival. Probe revealed that some silver items and gold jewellery were missing.
Further probe revealed that Balakrishnan had a visitor, identified as Shyam Mathov, a housekeeping staff member at the same textile shop where the deceased worked.
Shyam frequently visited Balakrishnan's home to assist him with errands, and the pair regularly consumed alcohol together, the police said. Investigations revealed that Shyam had an argument with Balakrishnan and stabbed him to death, and escaped with the valuables.
Police said that he was planning to flee the city. He was produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.