Alappuzha: Enraged over being rebuked for his drinking habit, a 30-year-old man strangled his bed-ridden mother to death at his house in Mavelikkara on January 13. Mavelikkara police arrested Bineesh, of Vettiyar, for murdering his mother Lalitha (60). The accused is her son from Lalitha's second marriage.

According to police, it was Bineesh who first rang up his stepsister and told her that Lalitha was not well and was lying unconscious. Soon, her relatives arrived and rushed Lalitha to the hospital. However, the doctors declared her brought dead and informed the relatives about the red marks found on her neck, following which they filed a police complaint.

A police team arrived at the scene and questioned Bineesh. However, he lied to them that he had left the house in the morning and found his mother lying unconscious when he returned in the evening. He even claimed that his friend had visited his house when he wasn't there and left before he returned.

The probe then focused on his friend, who during interrogation, told the cops that it was true that he reached the house around 5.30 pm. However, the doors and the windows were shut. When he knocked on the door, someone from inside said Bineesh was not at home.

With no concrete lead yet, a special team led by Inspector S Sreejith collected evidence from the house and premises and also consulted with the forensic surgeon after the autopsy was done at the Vandanam Medical College.

“The more clarity we gained in the case, the more it became clear that Bineesh was the prime suspect,” said Sreejith. The team took Bineesh into custody and subjected him to a detailed interrogation, during which he admitted to murdering his mother.

A heart patient with diabetes, Lalitha was bedridden ever since her legs had to be amputated in surgery. The accused told the cops that he arrived home by 4.30 pm in an inebriated condition and an argument broke out between him and Lalitha over his drinking habit. Bineesh, who was fed up with taking care of his bedridden mother, strangulated her to death in a fit of rage using Lalitha's clothes. It was Bineesh who modulated his voice to get rid of his friend who had arrived at the house then.