Villupuram: Police arrested a man for allegedly murdering his maternal uncle, a school teacher, near Gingee in Villupuram district after the latter repeatedly demanded repayment of a Rs 10 lakh loan.
The deceased was identified as P Ilangovan (57) of Ammakulam village in Melmalayanur taluk. He was working as a teacher at the Government Higher Secondary School in Melolakkur and had received the National Best Teacher award last year.
Police said Ilangovan married Vasanthi in 2010, but she left him and returned to her mother's house within two weeks of the marriage.
Since then, Ilangovan had been living with his mother Rajammal. A few days ago, Rajammal had gone to Chennai to visit her daughter, leaving Ilangovan alone at home.
On Wednesday, neighbours noticed a foul smell coming from Ilangovan's house and alerted the Valathi police. Police entered the house and found Ilangovan dead. Chilli powder had allegedly been sprinkled around the body.
The body was sent to the Gingee Government Hospital for post-mortem examination. Police registered a case and began an investigation.
During the inquiry, police suspected M Ganapathi (36), a relative from Neelampoondi village. During interrogation, Ganapathi allegedly confessed to murdering Ilangovan on May 31 while he was asleep at home by attacking him with a sickle.
"He had borrowed Rs 10 lakh from Ilangovan, who had been repeatedly asking him to repay the money," police said.
Police said Ganapathi also told investigators that Ilangovan was planning to marry another woman and that he feared losing his claim over the property if the marriage took place.
"He believed that he would inherit the entire property and decided to murder Ilangovan," police said.According to police, Ganapathi also admitted to sprinkling chilli powder around the body to prevent sniffer dogs from tracking him.
Valathi police altered the case from suspicious death to murder and arrested Ganapathi.
