Man Thrusts Rod Into Relative's Mouth, Killed Over Property Dispute

What began as an argument over a property dispute on Friday night, escalated into an altercation between the victim.

A 25-year-old tribal youth was killed by his relative, who thrust an iron rod into the victim's mouth following a quarrel with him over a family property at a village in Kerala, police said on Saturday.

What began as an argument over a property dispute on Friday night, escalated into an altercation between the victim, identified as Ramesh and his relative Suresh, the assailant. Under the influence of alcohol, the accused hit Ramesh with a rod and inserted it into the victim's mouth.

Later, the accused fled the scene, and police personnel launched a search for him and when he was spotted at a nearby forest area, they arrested him, police said. The accused "confessed" to the crime during interrogation, they said.

The crime occurred when Ramesh reached the house of the accused and "picked up a fight" with him. "According to the accused, there had been a dispute between the duo over a property. Last night, both of them had an altercation over the issue. Under the influence of alcohol, the accused had hit Ramesh with a rod...," a police officer said.