A physically challenged man in Tirunelveli burnt to death his 24-year-old son, who was mentally ill, in a state of fury and helplessness on Sunday.
Police have arrested L Veeraputhirapandian (58), a resident of Thirukurungudi in the district and have charged him for murder. Police said that Veeraputhirapandian’s son Venkatesh (24) was suffering from mental illness for the past four years and was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Tirunelveli.
On Sunday, Venkatesh refused to board the car that was supposed to take him to the hospital. “Veeraputhirapandian sought the help of his neighbours to carry Venkatesh from the house to the car. As Venkatesh grew violent, neighbours bound his legs and attempted to take him to the car. But Venkatesh resisted and started attacking them. After struggling for a while, the neighbours left the house. It was then that a furious Veeraputhirapandian doused his son with kerosene and set him on fire,” police said.
Since Venkatesh was in the habit of screaming frequently, the neighbours thought it was his usual scream when he cried out of pain after being set ablaze by his father. Only when smoke billowed out of the house did they realise what had happened and informed the police.
“Veeraputhirapandian did not attempt to evade arrest. He is regretting the death of his son but keeps saying that he had no other go. He weeps and goes into deep silence except for answering the queries we ask,” said a police officer.
Police said Veeraputhirapandian was a farmer who became inactive after he lost one of his legs in an accident. His daughter, who is married, lives in the United States. Veeraputhirapandian’s wife had recently gone to the US as their daughter had given birth to a child.
Venkatesh was under treatment for the past four years and every time he grew violent his parents would take him to the hospital. “Of late, he also refused to take tablets. Since then, Veeraputhirapandian would seek the help of his neighbours and they would help him bind the legs of Venkatesh to carry him to the car. Last night (Saturday) Venkatesh started behaving very violently and even damaged the vehicles of neighbours,” police said.