HYDERABAD: A 62-year-old govt employee was allegedly beaten to death by his wife with a pestle during a quarrel over retirement benefits and property at Hanuman Nagar in Husnabad town of Siddipet district on Sunday evening.Police identified the deceased as Koti Venkateshwarlu, who was working as a commercial tax officer in Asifabad district and was due to retire at the end of this month. His wife, Rajamani, is an auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM) at the Husnabad govt hospital.According to police, the couple had been having disputes over the distribution of their property and how Venkateshwarlu’s retirement benefits should be used. The issue escalated on Sunday when some elders were brought in to help settle the dispute.Venkateshwarlu’s younger brother, Devender, said two elders had come to the couple’s house on Sunday to discuss the issues. While one of them suggested that the matter be discussed again next Sunday, an argument broke out between the couple. “Rajamani pushed Venkateshwarlu during the argument and then picked up a pestle lying nearby and hit him on the head. He suffered a deep head injury,” Devender said.Family members immediately shifted Venkateshwarlu to a private hospital in Karimnagar for treatment. However, his condition deteriorated while he was undergoing treatment, and doctors declared him dead, Devender said.The body was later shifted to the Husnabad govt hospital for a postmortem examination.Police registered a case based on a complaint lodged by Devender and took Rajamani into custody for questioning. Further investigation is underway to ascertain the sequence of events leading to the fatal assault.Devender said the family had been trying to resolve the property-related differences through discussions involving elders.
