Man held for killing 83-yr-old father on Good Friday over property row

Mangaluru, Apr 16: Within two days after the murder of an elderly man in Moodbidri, police have cracked the case and arrested the son of the victim. According to police, property dispute between father and son led to the murder.

Paul Goveas(83), a resident of Hosabettu village in Moodbidri, was brutally murdered on Good Friday (April 14). On Easter Sunday the police arrested victim’s 42-year-old son Dolphy Goveas.

The accused had barged into the house on Good Friday and murdered his father using sharp weapons. Later, the accused attacked his elder brother Stany Goveas with same weapons but he managed to flee from the spot some serious injuries.

Mangaluru city police commissioner M Chandra Sekhar told media persons that Paul's elder son Stany had invited his father to accompany him to the Friday Church service held at Hosabettu church. As Paul had pain in his hand, he turned down his invitation and chose to remain at home alone.

When Stany returned home after mass around 8pm and while he was parking his bike, his brother Dolphy came there with a sharp weapon. He allegedly tried to murder Stany, but the latter escaped with injuries to his head and ear. Later, Stany found his father Paul in a pool of blood in the kitchen.

The jurisdictional police who took up the investigation arrested Dolphy from Ajekar in Karkala. The top cop said that Dolphy was running a pendal business in Moodbidri and had cut off relationship with his family after death of his mother Lilly.

During investigation, accused Dolphy confessed that the reason for taking extreme step was that he was unhappy over his name cropped up after the death of his mother Lilly Goveas. Three years ago, Lilly had committed suicide by hanging in a suspicious manner and all had doubted that Dolphy might have killed her as there was property issue.

He also said that after his mother's death, he was thrown out of the house and his gold belongings were kept with brother and father. He also confessed to have killed him and then trying to murder Stany, top cop added. The suicide incident of Lilly Goveas will also be probed again, he added.