Drunk Mother Charged For Murdering Widow Daughter Over Her Phone Usage

A widow laborer was allegedly murdered by her drunk mother following an altercation over the latter’s phone usage.

The deceased woman, identified as 31-year-old Mahalakshmi, was killed on Sunday, July 11, at her mother’s home in the Kanuvaipalayam area of Coimbatore district in Tamil Nadu, India.

The woman’s husband, Saravanakumar, died in an accident eight months ago. The couple has two children. The woman and her children were living at her husband’s house with his mother, Thulasimani.

The mother-in-law often picked up arguments with the woman over her excessive phone usage.

"His [Saravanakumar] mother Thulasimani used to advise the widow to take care of her children instead of spending hours chatting on phone. As she kept ignoring her advice, Thulasimani asked Mahalakshmi to stay with her mother, N Nagamani of Kanuvaipalayam near Karamadai," the Times of India quoted a police officer as saying.

According to a report from The Hindu, the now-deceased woman shifted to her mother’s house in the Kanuvaipalayam area six months ago.

Nagamani too had issues with Mahalakshmi’s habit of using the phone for hours. The mother suspected that her daughter was having affairs with multiple men.

"Noticing that Mahalakshmi was always busy on her phone, Nagamani often rebuked her and asked her to focus on her life," the police officer said.

On Sunday night, Nagamani who was reportedly in an inebriated state got into a heated argument with the victim over the cell phone issue.

The victim walked away during the argument and retired for the night. In a fit of rage, the suspect picked up a grinding stone and bludgeoned her daughter while she was asleep.

Police officers responded to the home on Monday and arrested the mother. She has been charged with murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The victim’s body was sent to a medical examiner’s office for an autopsy. The results are being awaited.

In a similar but unrelated incident, an unmarried pregnant woman with a learning disability was reportedly strangled to death by her mother and sister.

35-year-old Sermakani was murdered at her home in the Nanguneri village of Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu on Monday, July 12.

The victim’s family claimed that she died of natural causes, however, some villagers suspected foul play and alerted the police.

Police officers responded to the home and interrogated the victim's family during which her mother and sister confessed to the killing.

The suspects told the police that they murdered the woman because they were upset that she was unmarried and pregnant.