Former vice-president of a village panchayat, near Pattukottai, was murdered by his son on Monday night following a quarrel between the two. Police arrested his son.

The 60-year-old Chinnakannu, resident of Soorappankadu village and former Vice-President of the panchayat, had reportedly borrowed Rs 350 from his son Bhagyaraj’s close friend but did not return. Subsequently, his friend reportedly pestered Bhagyaraj asking for the money. On Monday night, Bhagyaraj who returned home after the day’s work reprimanded his father for borrowing money from his friend without his knowledge.

Subsequently, a quarrel broke out between the two. Then, Chinnakannu attempted to strangulate Bhagyaraj’s throat.

Bhagyaraj who became enraged attacked his father on his chest with a spade. In the attack, Chinnakannu died on the spot. His family members attempted to bury his body without the knowledge of police.

On a tip off, police rushed there, retrieved the body and sent it to government hospital in Pattukottai for postmortem. Police conducted enquiry and arrested Bhagyaraj on charges of murdering his father.