Young Priest Strangles, Repeatedly Stabs Sleeping Mother To Death

A 24-year-old Hindu priest has been arrested for allegedly strangling his mother and then stabbing her to death while she was asleep.

The suspect, identified as Karan Joshi, who hails from the Damka village of Surat in Gujarat, India, was arrested for the murder of his 55-year-old mother, identified as Geeta.

He was arrested after his father, Vasant Joshi, filed a police complaint accusing his son of the murder.

According to the complaint filed at the Ichhapore police station, the father and son made a living by performing religious rituals at the homes of their clients in the locality and neighboring villages.

The father alleged in the complaint that his son wasn’t serious about his work or his life. His parents wanted him to get married but the father claimed that his son showed no interest.

The suspect was always hanging out with his friends and misspend a lot of money on them, the father alleged. Upset by his actions, the parents stopped paying his bills and forced him to get married.

Deeply offended by his parents’ gesture, the suspect often engaged in altercations with them, according to the complaint.

On Monday, August 2, the suspect got into a heated argument with his parents before storming out of the home. When he returned home late in the night, his mother refused to open the door.

After about 15 minutes of squabble, the mother opened the door and let her son come inside the home. She then went to her bedroom and retired for the night. Her husband was reportedly sleeping in the other room.

When she was asleep, the suspect went to her room and strangled her before repeatedly stabbing her in the abdomen.

Vasant heard his wife scream for help and rushed to the room to find her lying unresponsive in a pool of blood. Emergency services responded to the home and pronounced the woman dead at the scene.

The suspect was arrested without incident, police said.

"Joshi was present in the house when the police arrived. Based on Vasant’s statement we arrested Joshi," a Times of India report quoted a police officer as saying.