Kozhikode: The mortal remains of Subaida Kayikkal (52), who was hacked to death by her son Ashik (24) at Kattippara near Thamarassery in Kozhikode on Saturday, were buried at a juma masjid at Adivaram Town.

The single mother, who was recovering after surgery for a brain tumour, was murdered by Ashik at her sister Shakeela’s residence at Kattippara, where the two have been staying for the past few years.

The youth was a drug abuser and had been treated in de-addiction centres earlier. However, he was not under the influence of drugs when he committed the crime, police said. "Domestic squabbles regarding money led to the murder," said Thamarassery DYSP Chandran AP.

Subaida did not give him the money he asked for. That provoked the accused, police say. "He didn't get the amount he asked. That's what provoked him. He also wanted to sell his mother's property," said SHO A Sayooj Kumar, the investigating officer. Ashik was remanded by the Kunnamangalam judicial first class magistrate court on Sunday.

'Alarming scenes'
Even after a day, 75-year-old Damodaran Nair Choyiyodu can't shake off the horrific scene. He was one of the first neighbours to reach the house. "I rushed there, hearing a loud cry from Shakeela's house. When I realised the doors were locked, I knocked on the windows. What I saw when the boy (Ashik) opened the windows was horrifying. There was blood on his hands and shirt. Subaida was lying on the floor in a pool of blood.".

Ashik had borrowed a cleaver from Nair, claiming he needed it to crack coconuts. "Then he opened the door and threw the cleaver to the yard. 'This is yours. You can take it back.', he told me," Nair recalled.
"He (Ashik) was a calm and well-behaved boy whenever he was in a good mood. Otherwise (under the influence of drugs) he was moody and didn't talk to anybody," Nair said.

Subaida had spent a lot of money de-addiction centres to help him kick the habit. As her husband had separated from the family long ago, Subaida worked hard to bring him up working for daily wages, neighbours who have seen her struggles said.