Vijayan was a habitual drinker, he started planning to kill his parents in December; more details are out on death of elderly couple

MANNAR: More details have emerged regarding the shocking incident in Mannar, where an elderly couple was burned to death after their son set fire to their house. Reports indicate that the accused, Vijayan, had been planning to kill his parents since December 15. It is believed that he bought and stored petrol in seven bottles over several days from different locations. Police have obtained CCTV footage from a petrol pump in Prayikkara which shows Vijayan purchasing petrol from the pump.

Investigations are ongoing at other fuel stations as well. A half-filled petrol bottle was recovered from a shed next to the charred house. The house consisted of a kitchen, a bedroom, and a hallway. The elderly parents were sleeping in one room, while Vijayan was in the hallway. According to Vijayan’s statement to the police, he poured petrol into his parents' room and other areas before igniting a cloth and throwing it from the hallway.

Vijayan has been living separately from his wife and two children for several years. He had lived in a rented house in Ennakkad before returning to his parents' house on August 4, last year. Locals revealed that he frequently quarrelled with his parents over property disputes and often threatened to beat them to death.

A habitual drinker, Vijayan would come home intoxicated and harass his parents. The victims were Thripperumthura native Raghavan (96) and his wife Bharathi (85). Their son, Vijayan (65), set them on fire on Friday night. The house was found completely burned down around 3 AM today, and during the subsequent search, the couple’s charred bodies were discovered.