Patient in coma stabbed to death by brother in Varkala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A 47-year-old bedridden man was stabbed to death by his brother a veterinary doctor in Varkala on Saturday morning.
Police said an intoxicated Santhosh (49) stabbed his brother Sandeep, a resident of Karthika Bhavan at Melvettoor in Varkala, in the chest region with a knife.
Sandeep was in a coma for four years after suffering a stroke while at work at Pangode military camp. According to police, Santhosh did not want to bear the expenses for treating him and he used to tell their mother that spending money on him would go in vain.
Early in the morning on Saturday, Santhosh broke open the doors of the outhouse where Sandeep had been staying and forcefully removed his feeding tubes. Sathyadas, Sandeep’s caretaker, tried to prevent him but Santhosh pushed him away and plunged the knife into his brother’s chest.
Sathyadas informed the police who rushed to the spot and took Sandeep to the Varkala taluk hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead. The body has been handed over to relatives after postmortem. Sandeep was unmarried while Santhosh and his wife had been separated for years due to a family dispute.
Sandeep’s father, who was a military officer, used to foot his hospital bills and after his death three years ago, Santhosh had been paying for his brother’s treatment.
Sandeep had been at the outhouse and Sathyadas, a native of Marthandam, was employed to take care of him.
Locals said that the family was quite well-known in the neighbourhood and that all of them were good to others.
The death of their father came as a huge setback and Santhosh soon became an alcoholic due to family disputes.
Santhosh was working in Kattappana and was reportedly suspended once for entering the hospital in a drunken state.
Varkala police have registered a case under Section 302 of IPC for murder and Santhosh has been remanded to custody.