Chennai man kills wife over delay in serving food

Representative image

A 79-year-old man killed his wife in Tamil Nadu's Thirumullaivoyal only because she failed to give him food on time, police officials said on Thursday.

Vinayagam is diabetic and thought his wife was not providing him with adequate care. This, police said, often led to disagreements between the accused and his slain wife Dhanalakshmi.

The man insisted on having his meals on time in order to take his medication. As 65-year-old Dhanalakshmi herself was also ill, she was unable to feed him on time.

The couple, who have two sons Ganapathy and Manikandan and lived in Kamalannagar area of Thirumullaivoyal, had an argument on Wednesday night as well over delay in serving food. In a fit of rage, Vinayagam picked up a kitchen knife and stabbed his wife in the neck. He also tried to kill himself. The incident took place after both Ganapathy and Manikandan had left for work.

As soon as the sons returned from work, they found their mother dead and their father lying nearby. Upon asking their father what happened, Vinayagam did not reply and denied knowing anything. Finding something fishy, the sons informed Thirumullaivoyal police. During questioning, Vinayagam confessed to the crime.

The police have registered a murder case against Vinayagam.

In a similar incident, a construction labourer from Madhya Pradesh hit his wife over delay in cooking food. The man attacked his wife with a brick on her head, leading to her death.