Man Kills Stranger With A Machete For Refusing Attacker's Request To Borrow His Phone To Make A Call

A man has been accused of brutally killing a 65-year-old stranger with a machete after the victim refused to lend his mobile phone to the suspect to make a call in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, India.

The accused, identified as P Thangaraj alias Thangam, 20, allegedly murdered 65-year-old I Nagapathiram, after a heated argument ensued between the two following the victim's refusal to let the assailant borrow his phone to make an important call, the Times Of India reported.

While Nagapathiram went out to look for his cows, Thangam reportedly approached him and demanded he hand over his mobile phone. However, when Nagapathiram refused to relinquish his cell phone, Thangam reportedly got angry and an altercation quickly escalated between the two.

During the argument, in a fit of rage, Thangam allegedly attacked Nagapathiram with a machete and killed him. After murdering the elderly victim, Thangam took Nagapathiram's mobile phone and made the call.

Nagapathiram's body was reportedly discovered lying at Odai Palam on the Natathi - Meenatchipatti Road, Tamil Nadu on Sunday, Jan. 9.

After the authorities launched an investigation into the incident, cops spotted Thangam loitering around the crime scene and took him in for questioning, during which he confessed to the murder and narrated the ordeal.

The officers have registered a case of murder against Thangam and taken him into custody.

In a similar but unrelated incident, a man identified as Laxmikant Pradhani, reportedly got into an explosive confrontation with his older brother Kanhu Charan Pradhani, 32, over the use of a mobile phone at their home in Koraput, Odisha, and brutally stabbed him to death on Nov. 11, 2021, Latin Times reported.

During the confrontation, the younger Pradhani, in a fit of rage, allegedly grabbed a steel knife that was lying around in their house and began viciously stabbing Kanhu Charan to death. After committing the horrific crime, the youngest Pradhani sibling fled the scene.

The older Pradhani succumbed to his fatal stab wounds while undergoing treatment at the District Headquarters Hospital at Jeypore, Odisha, and was declared dead on Nov. 12.

After Kanhu Charan's death was reported to the authorities, Iswar Tandi, Baipariguda Police Station Inspector In-Charge (IIC), proceeded to the crime scene with a scientific team. Tandi, along with the scientific team, and conducted a detailed investigation into the incident.