&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "'It was religious obligation': Indian-origin man kills father with sledgehammer in US, says 'he molested...'")
An Indian-origin man has been charged with first-degree murder after he allegedly killed his 67-year-old father with a sledgehammer, according to US media reports. The man has been identified as Abhijit Patel. According to Cook County prosecutors, victim Anupam Patel was found unresponsive at a residence in Schaumburg, Illinois. According to reports, Patel surrendered as soon as police arrived and during the probe, he said that he had "religious obligation" to kill his father for allegedly molesting him when he was a child. Reports also said that Patel was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was previously hospitalised for treatment.
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As per reports, accused Abhijit Patel told his mother to go and check father Anupam Patel. "I have taken care of him," Abhijit reportedly said. The court was informed that Abhijit Patel displayed many disturbing behaviour in past owing to which he was banned from his university campus. In November 2024, he allegedly made concerning comments on social media and in group chats to his fellow students at the University of Illinois Chicago. He was banned from campus until he was evaluated by a psychiatrist. At the time of the murder, he was barred from contacting his father as he had made threats to kill his father earlier too. After the arrest, he told the police that he had a religious duty to murder his father because his father purportedly abused him when he was a child.
