TIRUNELVELI: A 65-year-old ex-serviceman shot his neighbour with his rifle, following a heated argument over a dispute. The victim, who is a BJP functionary, escaped with an injury on his right hand and admitted to a private hospital. He is stated to be out of danger.
Police arrested the ex-serviceman, S Ponraj Jebamani of Perumalpuram and his son, Churchill Sundar Singh, 37, on charges of attempt to murder.
Police said that Jebamani had a dispute with L Periyadurai, 32, the Tirunelveli district general secretary of the BJP youth wing, over the non-maintenance of the latter’s meat stall, situated opposite his house.
An argument broke out between them on Wednesday morning, and Periyadurai started filming the argument on his mobile phone. At the peak of the argument, Jebamani fired at Periyadurai with his licensed rifle.
While Jebamani accused Periyadurai of attacking his son, Periyadurai charged Jebamani of demanding free meat often. He alleged that on Wednesday too Jebamani demanded free meat, which he denied. This resulted in the argument and firing, he said.