Man murders father over property dispute near Coimbatore

COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore district police arrested a man on charges of murdering his father over a property dispute between them.The deceased, M Viswanathan, 61, was a resident of Karegoundenpalayam in Annur. His son, V Rajasekar, 35, of Bharathi Nagar, struck him with a hollow-block stone on Sunday morning, which proved fatal.Police said Viswanathan had been embroiled in a legal battle with his son for nearly a decade. Nine years ago, Rajasekar assaulted his father, causing a permanent injury in Viswanathan’s right eye. Following that incident, Viswanathan moved out of their family home in Bharathi Nagar and started living at Karegoundenpalayam.Viswanathan transferred the Bharathi Nagar house to Rajasekar in 2017. However, facing financial hardship, Viswanathan approached the RDO court in Kavundampalayam in 2023. The court initially ruled that the house should be returned to the father. Rajasekar challenged the order in Madras high court in 2024, which ordered him to pay a monthly maintenance of Rs 5,000 to his father instead of vacating the house. Rajasekar, however, failed to comply with the payment order.Recently, Viswanathan filed an appeal in the high court regarding the unpaid maintenance. Upon receiving a court notice for a hearing scheduled for next week, Rajasekar allegedly threatened his father, stating that he would kill him if he continued the legal proceedings.On Sunday, while Rajasekar was driving his car, he spotted his father approaching from the opposite direction on a two-wheeler. Rajasekar intercepted him, causing Viswanathan to lose balance and fall. A heated argument ensued between them. Enraged, Rajasekar struck Viswanathan on the head with a hollow-block stone. Viswanathan died on the spot.The locals alerted the Annur police, who registered a case and arrested Rajasekar.