A day after he allegedly stabbed to death the rector of the Malayattoor Kurishumudi Church, the police nabbed ex-sexton Johnny Vattekkadan from a nearby forest on Friday.
A team led by Perumbavoor DySP G. Venu arrested the accused from Injakuzhy, nearly 2 km from the Kurisumudi pilgrim centre, around 1 p.m.
The police were helped by local youths in tracing the accused.
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Father Xavier Thelekkatt, 52, was murdered on Thursday afternoon.
The police said the accused stabbed the priest on his left thigh out of vendetta as the rector had suspended him from service citing moral turpitude. Though the priest was rushed to a nearby hospital, he bled to death by then.
The accused fled to the adjoining forests immediately after the incident and could not be traced till he was caught on Friday afternoon.
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The police said the accused was distraught and pleaded for drinking water and food when he was caught.
They claimed that he admitted to committing the crime in a fit of rage.