Three members of a family were murdered and another was seriously injured allegedly by their neighbour at Chendamangalam in North Paravur on Thursday around 6 p.m.

The accused, identified as Rithu Jayan, 27, was arrested shortly after the incident. The deceased were identified as Venu, 65, his wife Usha, 62, and daughter Vinisha, 32. Venu’s son-in-law Jithin, 35, was critically injured and is undergoing treatment in a hospital. All were residents of Kizhakkumpuram ward in Chendamangalam panchayat.

According to the police, Rithu Jayan bludgeoned the victims on the head with an iron pipe. The accused was a history-sheeter. Reportedly, personal disputes between the accused and the victims led to the attack.

The accused reportedly told the police that Venu and his family had abused him and his mother and sister following which he went to their home and attacked them, though his intention was never to kill. He reportedly fled the scene soon after the incident only to be intercepted by the Vadakkekara sub inspector on finding him riding without helmet while also smoking. On being taken to the police station, he reportedly confessed to the alleged murders.

According to the police, Rithu Jayan had cases against him on charges of bike theft, stalking, and a clash. The last case was registered in 2022. He was put on rowdy list and was being checked on a weekly basis.

He had returned from Bengaluru, where he was a tile worker, two weeks ago. There were also reports that he had been undergoing psychiatric treatment. Though it was widely rumoured that he had allegedly committed the crime on drug-induced high, the police said he had been clean for the past many days.

Reportedly, the families of the accused and the victims had lodged complaints of defamation against each other. The charges against Rithu Jayan were non-cognisable and hence bailable, sources said.

Divya Unnikrishnan, Kizhakkumpuram ward member, said the accused was a known troublemaker with a history of drugs.

Meanwhile, Opposition leader and local MLA V.D. Satheesan, who dubbed the incident as unfortunate, said if drug abuse had triggered the crime, then it was a serious matter.