A well-known South Indian restaurant in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, has temporarily closed after its owner was arrested earlier this month in connection with a serious domestic violence case involving his wife, WRAL reported.
CholaNad, located on Franklin Street, is currently listed as “temporarily closed.” According to warrants filed by the Chapel Hill Police Department, 49-year-old Mathivanan Pothiyappan was first charged on April 4 with assault on a female, communicating threats, and misdemeanour domestic violence. Four days later, a second case filing added a much more serious charge, attempted first-degree murder.
Indian restaurant owner charged with attempted murder of wife
Arrest warrant reviewed by CBS reveals that Pothiyappan threatened the woman with a knife and threw a “black bag full of medicine,” which struck her in the face on April 4. The warrants specifically state that he allegedly told her, “I’m going to take the knife and kill you.” Police documents also say he chased the woman down “with malice.”
According to a voluntary statement given to the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office, the woman said Pothiyappan “has always been verbally and physically abusive.” She also said that during the incident mentioned in the warrants, she ran out of the front door, and he chased her with a car.
Court documents state that both the victim and the couple’s daughter gave statements that support the sequence of events described by investigators. Records also mention earlier allegations of abuse within the family.
Arrest and charges
North Carolina business registration records show Pothiyappan is the owner of South Indian LLC, the company that runs CholaNad Indian restaurant on West Franklin Street.
According to the report, Pothiyappan was initially given a $5,000 bond on the first charges and was released on April 6. After the attempted murder charge was added, he was arrested again and given a $100,000 bond. Court records show he has since posted bond again.
As part of his pre-trial release conditions, Pothiyappan must have no contact with family members involved in the case. He was also ordered to surrender his passport. He is scheduled to appear in court again on May 11. (The charges are allegations at this stage. Pothiyappan is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.)
Meanwhile, CholaNad has long been a familiar name in downtown Chapel Hill’s food scene. Along with its Franklin Street restaurant, its campus dining outlet at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has also reportedly stayed closed in recent days.