Picture used for representational purpose only

CHENNAI: A 26-year-old man died after he accidentally slit his own stomach when pulling out a knife , which he had hidden in his clothes, to attack another person at Ayanavaram early on Wednesday, police said.

The deceased, Manoharan of Gingee in Tiruvannamalai, a driver for a restaurant chain in Perambur, was drunk when he attacked two men who had confronted him for harassing his wife ’s mother and sister, police said.

Police said Manoharan married Saritha, 18, who worked with the same restaurant chain, against family’s opposition when she was still a minor. However, Saritha had left Manoharan three months ago, allegedly unable to bear his physical abuse, and gone back to her parents. Though Saritha had gone with her father to their hometown in Andhra Pradesh, Manoharan often visited her parents’ house on Pudhu Nagar 3rd Street demanding that she return to him. Police said on Tuesday, Manoharan visited the house around 10.45pm and allegedly hugged and kissed Saritha’s elder sister under the influence of alcohol. When she raised the alarm, her mother Sampoornam also woke up.

Manoharan allegedly threatened them at knifepoint and fled the spot, but Sampoornam alerted the police control room about the incident around 11.30pm. Special sub-inspector Venkatesan and head constable Muthukumar of Ayanavaram police station rushed to the spot and asked them to keep the house locked through the night. When police called Manoharan over phone, he allegedly abused them. As police personnel left the house after asking the women to lodge a complaint on Wednesday, Sampoornam sought the help of Raghavendra, 64, her co-worker at restaurant in Triplicane, who lives in the same locality.

Raghavendra reached the house with his neighbour Srinivasan, 21, on a bike and asked the women to stay in his house for safety reasons. “But on their way, they confronted Manoharan again and tried to secure him to hand him over to the police. In the melee, Manoharan tried to attack them with the knife and slit his own abdomen when he took out the weapon. But he did not realise it as he was drunk and stabbed Raghavendra in his chest. But when Srinivasan overpowered Manoharan, the latter became unconscious, police said.

On information, Manoharan and Raghavendra were rushed to Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, where Manoharan was declared brought dead. Raghavendra is said to be out of danger after a surgery. The Ayanavaram police have registered a case.

