Car mechanic gets life for murdering friend during lockdown

Coimbatore: The first additional district judge court on Wednesday sentenced a 27-year-old man to life imprisonment for murdering his friend during the Covid-19 lockdown at KRG Nagar near Ganapathy in the city.A court source identified the convict as S Manikandan, a native of Velayuthampalayam in Karur district. A car mechanic, he was staying in a rental house at KRG Nagar near Ganapathy along with taxi driver Sivakumar, 21, of Ranganathapuram in Theni district during the pandemic. Three other taxi drivers were also staying with them."Manikandan was abandoned by his mother during his childhood and it was his nature to get provoked whenever his friends talked about women. Sivakumar was in the habit of talking about his girlfriends under the influence of alcohol. Manikandan often advised Sivakumar against the same and it was common for the duo to fight over the issue," the source said.On the night of May 7, 2020, Sivakumar became talkative about his affairs with women under the influence of alcohol, the source said. "Manikandan told Sivakumar that he was roaming like a stray dog behind women, triggering a verbal spat between the two. While their friends pacified the duo, Manikandan assaulted Sivakumar with a scissor later at night. Sivakumar was rushed to a private hospital with injuries to his forehead."After that incident, the source said, Sivakumar often threatened to kill Manikandan, who decided to finish off the former. "Around 5am on May 8 that year, Manikandan went to the room where Sivakumar was sleeping, took a dumbbell and hit him on his head with the same, killing him on the spot."The Saravanampatti police subsequently registered a murder case against Manikandan and arrested him. After spending 110 days in jail, Manikandan came out on conditional bail. The case trial was held before the first additional district judge court. Judge S Sashirekha sentenced Manikandan to life imprisonment on Wednesday evening. The court also imposed a fine of Rs5,000 on the convict.
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