Former AIADMK MP R Kulanthaivelu's wife was allegedly murdered by their son over a property dispute on Sunday. Rathinam, 63, was allegedly stabbed in the chest by her 35-year-old son Praveen at her residence in Sixth Avenue of Besant Nagar in Chennai. The police have initiated a manhunt for Praveen, who is absconding.
The couple had two children - Sudha and Praveen. Praveen had married a Polish woman some years back and was settled in London, while Sudha was living with her family at Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu. Praveen did his studies in London and had only come last month to meet Rathinam.
Rathinam had made a distress call to Sudha before the crime was committed on Sunday. She told Sudha that Praveen was creating a scene by demanding his share from the family property and was threatening to kill her if she doesn't give it to him.
According to the police, Sudha heard her brother abusing their mother on phone. She had asked Rathinam to call one of their relatives to come to rescue her, but by the time she could say anything, the call was disconnected.
Nervous about the incident, Sudha called one of her relatives residing at Thoraipakkam and asked him to go check up on her mother. The relative went to their house and saw that the door was locked from outside and was covered in blood stains.
The relative quickly informed some of the neighbours and they inquired the police about the incident. The police rushed to the spot and found the victim's lifeless body with strangulation marks.
Her mortal remains were shifted to a government hospital in Royapettah for post-mortem. The police have issued look-out notice for Praveen at all airports and other transportation hubs.
