NEDUMANGAD: A man was bludgeoned to death by a neighbour, his wife and son in front of his eight-year-old son during a road dispute. The deceased has been identified as Saji (45), a daily wager who resides at Saji Bhavan in Pachakkad in Thannimood. The tragedy happened around 2:30 pm on Christmas Day. Saji, who was covered in blood, was rushed to the Nedumangad district hospital by the locals but could not be rescued. Nedumangad police arrested Saji's neighbor Babu (55), wife Rachel (48) and son Prijeesh (21) in connection with the incident. Nedumangad CI Suresh Kumar said that they will be produced in court today.

The murder was the result of a dispute over the laying of a slab on the way to their house from Pachakkad Road. Only Saji and his son Anoop (8) were present at the time of the incident. Saji, who was knocked to the ground by Rachel using a stick, was beaten by her son Prijeesh and husband Babu. Babu grabbed a nearby granite and hit Saji in the face again and again. Police said the attack continued until the death was confirmed. The accused went into hiding after the murder and was nabbed by a team led by Nedumangad DySP from a relative's house at night. After the postmortem, the funeral was held in the premises of the house. Saji's wife- Sunitha.