Man arrested for murder of street dweller in Coimbatore

COIMBATORE: A 26-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the murder of a street dweller near Peelamedu here on March 21.The arrested man, identified as S Mohammed Azath, 26, of Podanur, is a labourer. He often slept on roadsides.According to a police officer, Azath and the deceased, K Ranganathan, 56, of Thanneerpandal near Peelamedu, used to receive free meals offered by private groups. On March 18, the two were having food at Thanneerpandal. Azath took water from Ranganathan and drank it, leading to an argument. Ranganathan allegedly abused Azath using filthy language, and this led to enmity between them.On Saturday night, Ranganathan was sleeping on a roadside in Greenview Telecom Colony near Thanneerpandal. Azath, who was drunk, went to the place where Ranganathan was sleeping and bludgeoned him to death with a stone. He then took the victim’s mobile phone and cash and fled.Police registered a murder case and began an investigation. A special team was formed to trace the murderer. The team arrested Azath from near the Codissia grounds on Tuesday night. Ranganathan’s mobile phone was recovered from him. He was remanded in judicial custody.