Kasaragod: A Kasaragod court on Monday sentenced a man to life imprisonment on charges of stabbing to death his elder brother over plucking a handful of black pepper spikes.

But the underlying reason could be a property dispute, said public prosecutor K Balakrishnan, who procured the conviction.

Kasaragod additional sessions court (III) judge A V Unnikrishnan found Krishna Naik alias Biju (40) guilty of stabbing to death his elder brother Buddha Naik on December 22, 2014. Buddha was 42 years old then.

After their father Devappa Naik's death, the two brothers lived in two houses on the undivided property of their father at Chamakochi in Adhur village.

On the day of the crime, Buddha Naik had plucked a handful of pepper spikes from a vine in front of his house, said Balakrishnan.

Around 7 pm, Krishna returned home drunk and picked up a fight with Buddha Naik for plucking the pepper. "Krishna had barged into his elder brother's house and pushed down Buddha's wife Seethamma. This angered Buddha and he slapped Krishna," said the public prosecutor.

Krishna left the house in a huff but dropped his mobile phone in the melee. When Buddha's son Rajesh found the phone, he gave his uncle a shout. "Krishna asked Rajesh to bring him the mobile phone. But when the boy went to his house, Krishna held a knife to the boy's neck and threatened to kill him," he said.

Hearing the threat, Buddha ran towards Krishna and the younger brother stabbed him five times on the neck, head, and back, according to the prosecution. Buddha ran back and collapsed in his house. He died before being taken to the hospital.

Based on a complaint filed by his son Rajesh, Adhur police pressed Krishna Naik with charges of murder.

Krishna was arrested three days after the crime and the murder weapon was seized by the then Adhur inspector Satheesh Kumar A.

During the trial, two neighbours turned hostile. Krishna Naik told the court that he was at the Ayyappa Bajana Mandiram when the crime happened. "But the court dismissed the claim and accepted the testimony of wife Seethamma and son Rajesh," said Balakrishnan.

The court sentenced Krishna Naik to life imprisonment and slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 for the murder.

The court also found him guilty of trespassing into the house (Section 452 of the IPC), threatening Rajesh with a knife (Section 506 (ii) of IPC), and hurting Seethama and Rajesh (section 323 of IPC).

He was sentenced to two years each for trespassing and threatening, and six months each for hurting the mother and son. The court fined Krishna another Rs 12,500 for these minor crimes. The sentences will be served concurrently.

Krishna, who was out of bail, was arrested and sent to jail on Monday. "He appeared remorseless in court today," said Balakrishnan.

Judge Unnikrishnan also directed the District Legal Service Authority to initiate steps to compensate Seethamma and Rajesh.