Palakkad: A man out on bail for the alleged murder of a woman in Kerala's Palakkad in 2019 returned for revenge and killed her husband and his mother in a gripping case of long-term personal enmity.
Lakshmi (72), and her son Sudhakaran were allegedly hacked to death in broad daylight by 58-year-old Chenthamara, outside their residence in Pothundy in this north Kerala district on Monday morning, police said on Wednesday.
Chenthamara was arrested in Pothundy near Nenmara on Tuesday night, ending a 36-hour manhunt. "He was apprehended in the Mattai first area of Pothundy," said Palakkad Superintendent of Police (SP) Ajith Kumar.
Chenthamara was released on bail two months ago in the 2019 case involving the murder of Sudhakaran's wife Sajitha. According to officials, Chenthamara murdered Sajitha in 2019 after being allegedly influenced by a sorcerer who claimed that a long-haired woman was responsible for her family's misfortunes.
Following his arrest, tensions flared outside the police station as locals staged a protest demanding his release. The situation escalated, prompting the police to use a lathi charge to disperse the crowd and lock the station gates for security.
The police official said that Chenthamara had fled to the forest after brutally killing Lekshmi and Sudhakaran. The Nenmara police had launched an extensive search operation and captured him while he was attempting to return home for food.
Deputy Superintendent of Police N Muralidharan said, "Anticipating that he may return home due to hunger, we deployed multiple teams near his house and potential hideouts. He walked straight into one of our teams. We took him into custody by 9.30 pm." He further revealed that a similar strategy was used to capture Chenthamara during the 2019 murder case.
The police are now investigating further motives behind the recent killings and ensuring law and order in the region.
'Showed no remorse'
A day after Chenthamara was caught following a massive manhunt, police said the accused showed no remorse and instead appeared happy with his alleged actions.
The accused, who was in hiding since the incident, was apprehended late Tuesday night and is presently in custody of the police, which booked him for the offence under section 103 (murder) under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, SP Kumar told reporters at a press briefing here.
The SP said that the accused had revealed a lot of things, including the reason for carrying out the murders, during his initial round of questioning and his answers needed to be cross-verified. "What I am telling you are only the preliminary findings which are yet to be corroborated," he said.
'Long-standing personal enmity'
According to the SP, there was a long-standing personal enmity between the families of the victims and the accused and it had escalated since the alleged murder of Sajitha by Chenthamara in 2019.
"He (Chenthamara) believes that his wife left him due to the interference of the victims' family," the officer said, adding that the murders appeared pre-planned as the accused had bought a weapon and kept it ready for use.
The accused during questioning denied he met anyone who practices black magic, but it has to be verified, police further said. The officer also said that the accused was also trying to mislead the police as he claimed that he had consumed poison. "His (accused) medical examination did not reveal any poison in his system. We suspect he is trying to mislead the police," he said.
The SP also gave details of how Chenthamara avoided capture for more than 24 hours after the incident. "He ran into the nearby forested hill. He is very familiar with the surrounding area and knows how and where to hide. He was watching the police search operations from hiding," the officer said.
The accused will be produced before a magistrate during the day and he will be remanded to judicial custody, he added. "After one or two days, we will seek his custody, to take him to the scene of the crime and recreate the incident in his presence," the officer said.
The police have faced criticism from the Congress party and Sudhakaran's children, who alleged that the Nenmara police failed to act despite being informed by locals and relatives of the deceased that Chenthamara had returned to the village in violation of his bail conditions. (Agency inputs)
