The Nedumkandam police arrested a 26-year-old man on Saturday for allegedly murdering his parents. The accused has been identified as Ajeesh, a resident of Ezhukumvayal, near Nedumkandam.

According to the police, the accused got into a quarrel with his parents and stabbed his father, Paratharayil Antony, 59, and mother, Valsamma, 55, to death. The incident occurred around 9.30 p.m. on Friday.

The crime came to light after the accused sent a video of the act to a former vicar of the Ezhukumvayal parish. The priest forwarded the clip to the current vicar, who then alerted both the police and local residents. Upon receiving the alert, officers rushed to the scene and took the accused into custody.

The police said that the accused had initially asked his mother to sit beside him and demanded that she pray. Dissatisfied with her prayer, he attacked her. When Antony rushed to the scene to intervene, Ajeesh attacked him as well. Antony’s mother, Chinnamma, was in the adjacent room during the attack, but the accused did not harm her.

When the police arrived at the scene, the accused was found praying in front of the house. He reportedly told the police that he had “sent his parents to God,” adding that “God did not demand” his grandmother be sent as well.

Local people said that the accused is a habitual drinker who had recently returned home after being admitted to a de-addiction centre. It is suspected that his parents’ decision to send him for rehabilitation may have motivated the crime.

Following a post-mortem examination at the Idukki Government Medical College Hospital, the bodies were shifted to a private hospital mortuary at Kattappana. The funeral will be held once the couple’s elder son, Nithin, arrives from abroad.