Chennai: A mason was murdered in a dispute over unpaid wages.
A supervisor who staged a drama claiming he had slipped and fallen from a building was arrested by the police.
Construction of a new house is under way on land owned by Venkatasalam on Nallappa Vathiyar Street in Vannarappettai, Chennai.
In this work, Kotteeswaran (46), from Old Vannarappettai, had been working as the supervisor.
Jayakodi (55), from Meenambal Nagar in Korukkupet, had been working as a mason.
Argument
It is said that Jayakodi was owed Rs. 10,000 in wages by Kotteeswaran. Yesterday, Jayakodi went to the construction site to ask for it. At that time, an argument broke out between the two and turned into a physical altercation.
Enraged, Kotteeswaran attacked Jayakodi with a reaper blade that was there. Jayakodi suffered severe head injuries and collapsed unconscious.
Immediately, Thatchinamoorthy, who worked with him, rescued Jayakodi and took him to Government Stanley Hospital. There, the doctor who examined him said that Jayakodi had already died.
Police investigation
The police were informed about this from the hospital. Initially, it was reported that Jayakodi had died after falling from above while working on a building construction site.
Following this, the Vannarapettai police went to the scene and conducted an investigation. During the investigation, it came to light that when Jayakodi went to ask for the remaining wages, a dispute broke out, and Koteeswaran attacked him with a rebar rod, causing Jayakodi to collapse and die. Following this, the police arrested Koteeswaran.