CHENNAI: A 37-year-old man was allegedly beaten to death by his sister and her husband near Sholavaram on Thursday night, after he harassed her for money to buy alcohol. The couple had attempted to pass off the murder as natural death and were preparing for the funeral, when police secured the body.
The deceased S Boopalan, a casual labourer, was staying with the family of his elder sister, R Dhanalakshmi, 41 at Ambedkar Street in Sholavaram.
Police said that Boopalan did odd jobs like painting graffiti art, but spent his earnings primarily on alcohol. Boopalan, who already had a strained relationship with his sister over a four-cent ancestral land, further simmered the ill-feelings by harassing her, often demanding money to buy liquor.
On Thursday night Boopalan, who returned home drunk, asked for more money from his sister after which an argument broke out between the siblings. In the melee, Dhanalakshmi and her husband, Ravi, 45, hit Boopalan with a large pestle on his head after which he swooned.
Instead of rushing him to hospital, the duo locked him inside a room and left him to die, police said. On Friday morning Dhanalakshmi found her brother dead. The husband-wife duo did not inform the police but started to prepare for the funeral.
"They informed the relatives that Boopalan could have died of excessive alcohol drinking," said an investigating officer.
However, locals sensed foul play and alerted the police, who stopped the funeral preparations and sent the body for autopsy to the Government stanley hospital, which revealed injuries on his head and body.
Sholavaram police registered a case of murder and questioned Dhanalakshmi and Ravi, after which they confessed to have murdered Boopalan. They were arrested and remanded in judicial custody.
