Man kills brother, uncle over property dispute in Kerala’s Kottayam, arrested

Karimpanal George Kurian allegedly used his licensed revolver to fire fatal shots at his younger brother Ranju Kurian, 50, and their 78-year-old uncle Pottamkulam Mathew Scaria at the Mannarakkayam village in Kanjirappally, the police said.

Scaria reportedly received multiple shots while he tried to intervene in the fight between the brothers. The aged parents of George and Ranju were present during the fight. While Ranju died on the spot on Monday evening, Mathew died at Kottayam medical college early Tuesday.

The family has cardamom and tea estates in Idukki in Kerala and Nilgiris of Tamil Nadu.

Ranju and his wife moved from his ancestral house in Kanjirappally to Ooty where four of their children are studying.

According to the police, trouble surfaced in the family after George got two-and-a-half acres of family property registered under his name. George had been running a real estate business in Kochi. As his business faced a crisis, George wanted to start another one at their family property in Kanjirappally.

He planned to divide the two-and-a-half acres of land into small plots for resale. This move was opposed by Ranju as he was against the idea of a housing colony near their ancestral house. Scaria, their uncle, had reached the house as a mediator to settle the dispute between the brothers.

“He was opposed to the elder brother’s real estate plan, close to their Karimpanal house. Hence, the dispute emerged,” said Kanjirappally panchayat member V P Rajan.