Decision to remarry costs Jalna man his life, son drugs & kills him hours before nuptials

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A 19-year-old youth was arrested on Thursday for allegedly killing his father with an axe early in the day in Jalna district, hours before the man's remarriage, after drugging him with sleeping pills the previous night. Police said the accused was upset over his father's decision to remarry two years after his mother died by suicide.The Teerthpuri police identified the victim as Dilip Rajguru (45) of Rui village in Ghansawangi taluka. "Dilip was found lying in a pool of blood inside his house on Thursday morning, triggering panic among villagers," the police said.An officer said the accused, Vilas, was the elder son of the deceased. "Vilas was upset over his father's decision to remarry following the death of his mother by suicide two years ago. Dilip was scheduled to tie the knot later on Thursday. His younger son stays at his grandmother's house," the officer said.Jalna superintendent of police Ajaykumar Bansal said the investigation revealed that the murder was linked to objections over the second marriage. "The accused has confessed to administering sleeping pills to his father through dinner and later attacking him with an axe around 12.30am," the SP said.Additional SP Ayush Nopany said the murder appeared to be premeditated. "There was a heated argument between the father and the son around 8.30pm on Wednesday. Later, the accused procured sleeping pills and served food laced with them to ensure the victim was unconscious before carrying out the attack," he said, adding that police were probing the role of another person who might have assisted in the crime.Assistant inspector Vaishali Pawar said a case has been registered against the accused and his suspected accomplice. "Prima facie, multiple axe blows caused the victim's death. The accused has been taken into custody and further investigation is on to establish the exact sequence of events and involvement of others," she said.The police said the body had been sent for postmortem and forensic evidence was being analysed. "The victim's brother was the first to alert the police. During the initial inquiry, the accused tried to mislead investigators by claiming he was not at home at the time of the murder. His suspicious behaviour, however, gave him away," the police added.