Even while the sole accused in the Nanthencode multiple-murder case has made stunning revelations, the police are yet to comprehend the motive behind the crime, despite interrogating him for several hours on Tuesday.
The arrest of Cadell Jeansen Raja, 29, was recorded on the day after booking him under Sections 302 (murder), 436 (mischief by fire with intent to destroy house) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) of the Indian Penal Code. He will be produced before the court on Wednesday, according to official sources. The police will seek his custody for further investigation in the case.
Following interrogation that went on long into the late hours on Monday, the accused was subjected to another marathon round of interrogation at the office of the City Police Commissioner in the presence of Additional Director General of Police (South Zone) B. Sandhya, Inspector General (Thiruvananthapuram range) Manoj Abraham, and other senior officials.
Bizarre ideas
“He claimed to have been subscribed to the esoteric concept of astral projection and apparently chose to apply bizarre ideas such as separating the soul from body on his family members,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Arul R.B. Krishna said.
No satanic worship
He, however, dismissed reports that the accused had been engaged in satanic worship.
With the accused showing signs of delusion, the assistance of G. Mohan Roy, consultant psychiatrist, Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College, has been roped in. After being taken to the psychiatric ward of the medical college for examination, the accused was shifted to the modern interrogation room of the City Police Control Room for further interrogation after recording his arrest.
According to the police, the accused had allegedly murdered his mother on Wednesday after calling her to his room under the pretext of showing a computer game he had developed. Later, he went on to murder his father and sister in similar fashion using an axe he had purportedly purchased from an e-commerce site.
While he claimed that they had gone for a tour along with a family friend to Kanyakumari, Jean Padma’s aunt Lalitha had sensed something was amiss, soon after which he allegedly murdered her two days later. The investigating team has been able to piece together the chilling scenes of the crime, but they are yet to understand the circumstances that could have been the tipping point for the murders.