Thiruvananthapuram, March 27 (BPNS)

One person was killed and another grievously injured in gunshot firing when a drunken man fired at them near a wayside eatery. The gruesome incident occurred at Moolamattam, Idukki on late Saturday night. The deceased is identified as Sanal Sabu while his friend Pradeep is battling for life at a private hospital in Thodupuzha.

Police arrested a person, Martin Joseph for the crime.

Soumya, the owner of the wayside eatery while speaking to BPNS said, “Two persons reached the shop late on Saturday night and created issues when we told them that meat curry was not there and was exhausted as it was late in the night. The men became violent and started showering abuses at me when two youths who were having food at the eatery intervened and asked the men to keep quiet. This infuriated the men and one of them entered into a physical confrontation with the youths. After that they went off and then came back and fired at these two youths, one died on the spot after being hit by a bullet on his head. The other is battling for life at a private hospital.”

Police said that the detained person, Martin Joseph had confessed to the crime and said that it was a local country rifle that he had stolen from someone else to fire the shot.

With Pradeep’s condition turning critical, situation in Idukki is tense and a heavy police contingent is deployed under the Idukki district superintendent of Police to quell any violence.