Three members of a family have been arrested by the Kothamangalam police in connection with a murder, which was initially passed off as an accident death.
The arrested were identified as Kochappa, 27; his father Joy, 58; and mother Molly, 55, of Pindimana. They stand accused of murdering Eldhose, who ran a studio by the name Seven Arts in Chelad.
The police said that the victim had given Kochappa, who was largely unemployed, a loan of ₹3 lakh. The victim had been reportedly demanding it back following which Kochappa invited him to his house in the guise of settling it on Sunday night.
“While at their home, the father and son jointly hammered him to death using an axe. They also threw away his mobile phone,” the police said.
The duo then allegedly took the body sandwiched between them on the victim’s own scooter to a nearby canal. The body was abandoned in the canal and the scooter alongside to make it look as if the victim had met with an accident and died of injuries.
Later, the mother burnt the axe used for the alleged murder into ashes. She also recovered the mobile phone and smashed it into smithereens.
The body was found on Monday morning and the event initially got passed off as an accident. However, the fact that the canal had no water at that time, coupled with the post mortem report that the injury was caused by a blunt object, raised the suspicion of the police.
Also, they found it odd that his mobile phone was also missing. A probe around the missing phone turned out to be the breakthrough as the victim’s family told the police that he had told them that he was on the way to Kochappa’s house to settle the debt.
This led the police to the doorsteps of the accused. His last tower location also coincided with his presence there. However, the accused claimed that though the victim had come to their home, he had returned with ₹2.25 lakh they had paid him.
However, their lies were exposed when the police eventually found the remains of the burnt axe and smashed mobile phone.
A special investigation team formed by District Police Chief (Ernakulam Rural) K. Karthik cracked the case. The team led by DySP Muhammed Riyas, Inspectors Basil Thomas, Noble Manuel, and K. J. Peter, and sub inspector Mahin Salim made the arrest.
