Two brothers were arrested from Puthupariyaram near here on Monday on charge of murdering their elder brother and hiding the body inside the septic tank of the house.
Police officers from the Hemambika Nagar station arrested Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) employee Ramachandran, 45, and his younger brother, Rajesh, 37, after recovering body of their elder brother P. Manikandan, 47, who had ‘disappeared’ under mysterious circumstances two weeks ago.
Manikandan lived close to the old grama panchayat office in Puthuppariyaram. After the the district police chief received a tip-off, the police surrounded the house on Sunday night.
The septic tank was opened around 10 a.m. on Monday and the body was recovered. Manikandan was working as a lottery agent on the premises of Palakkad Junction railway station at Olavakode.
The police are interrogating the brothers to ascertain the reasons behind the murder. As per preliminary findings, Manikandan earned the wrath of his family over a property dispute.
Properties
He had attacked his aged parents and brothers demanding more than his due share. He had filed a police case against his 82-year-old father three months ago. A divorcee, Manikandan had property in two areas of Palakkad and a fixed deposit with a nationalised bank. The police are yet to ascertain the amount.
Last week, Manikandan’s another brother Krishnankutti got married. Local people turned suspicious about the absence of Manikandan on the occasion.
Complaint lodged
Puthupariyaram grama panchayat president M.K. Narayanan then lodged a missing complaint with the police. An investigation was on. On Sunday evening, the district police chief got a tip-off that the body was dumped inside the septic tank.
The body was taken around noon on Monday for autopsy to the Palakkad District Government Hospital.
