A 19-year-old youth, allegedly unable to cope with the mental stress following his failure in the Class 12 examinations, beat his mother to death with a pestle and stabbed her with a kitchen knife at their house in Perungudi on Sunday.

The police identified the accused as Rakesh, 19. His parents, Babulal, 48, and Cheni Devi, 43, natives of Rajasthan, run a pawn shop in Kurinchi Nagar.

The police said Rakesh had been staying at home and had stopped going out after failing the Class 12 examinations.

Investigators suspect that he had been under severe mental stress. His father had left for their native place about 15 days ago following the death of a relative.

On Sunday morning, while his mother was asleep, Rakesh allegedly killed her.

The deceased’s daughter raised an alarm, prompting neighbours to arrive at the house and, later, alert the police.

The police reached the spot, conducted an inquiry and sent the body to the Government Royapettah Hospital for post-mortem examination. Rakesh was arrested and is being interrogated further.

Published - July 20, 2026 11:12 pm IST