THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chargesheet has been filed in the Ananthu Gireesh murder case that rocked the state. Ananthu was brutally killed by the members of a rival gang near Karamana on March 12. The 21-year-old was kidnapped by a three-member gang that came in a bike from near Thaliyil and was later murdered after bringing him under the influence of drugs.
The chargesheet was filed by Fort Assistant Commissioner R Prathapan Nair before the Sessions Court here. “We had only circumstantial evidence. We had to draw a connection between them and also needed to garner scientific evidence. That was a challenge,” he said.
The chargesheet alone had 150 pages. After adding the witnesses’ notes and evidence it grew to more than 1,500 pages. The chargesheet listed 128 witnesses, 114 documents and 89 material objects. There are 14 accused in the case in which 10 have been arraigned for their direct involvement in the murder. Four others were charged with taking part in a conspiracy, destroying evidence and sheltering the accused.
Police said filing of the chargesheet was fast-tracked under the instruction of City Police Commissioner K Sanjaykumar. They said six of the accused were arrested from Kollenkode in Tamil Nadu, while another one had gone into hiding in Chennai. “Because of this inter-state connection, it was a challenge to file the chargesheet in 70 days,” the sources added.
The 21-year-old was killed in retaliation after he had entered into a fist fight with the members of the rival group during a temple festival in the locality. The youth was kidnapped and later murdered at a desolate spot by the gang members.
The autopsy had revealed that the body bore blunt force injuries and wounds made using sharp-edged weapons. The veins on his wrists were also found severed. as the perpetrators watched him bleed to death.