The Mulanthuruthy police on Tuesday arrested three youngsters on charge of murder.
The arrested were identified as Mithun, 25, of North Paravur; Sarath, 27, of Udayamperoor; and Atul, 23, of Mulanthuruthy. Another accused, Vishnu, 25, of Thripunithura is still at large.
The gang is accused of stabbing Joji Mathai, 22, of Perumbilly near Mulanthuruthy following a heated argument at the end of which the victim was dragged out of the house and stabbed in the courtyard. He succumbed to grave injuries sustained on the neck and the chest. The victim’s father also sustained injuries while trying to stop the assailants from attacking his son.
The police said that a Facebook post that the victim had made about a friend of the accused provoked the attack. They fled soon after the attack and left behind a dagger and a motorcycle. All the accused have criminal cases against them. The victim’s father remains under treatment at a hospital.
K. Karthik, District Police Chief (Ernakulam Rural), had formed a special investigation squad to probe the case. A team led by Puthencruz DySP Ajay Nath, Mulanthuruthy inspector K.M. Muhammed Nizar, sub inspectors E.V. Raju, Jijomon Thomas, T.K. Krishnakumar, assistant sub inspector Jose K. Philip, senior civil police officers Anilkumar and Harish, and civil police officer Sandeep made the arrest.
