KOCHI: The police team probing the recovery of skeletal remains of a woman stuffed inside a barrel at Kumbalam are checking whether the deceased or the accused had carried out any unaccounted transactions.
The police had identified the deceased as 54-year-old Udayamperoor native K S Shakunthala. According to the officers, Sajith, the paramour of Sakunthala’s daughter Aswathy, murdered her between September 19 and 24, 2016. Sakunthala used to threaten Sajith that she would reveal his illicit relationship with Aswathy to his wife and other relatives, which led to the murder, according to the police.
Officers said the investigation is now focused on the financial transactions of those involved in the case. The investigation team has found the deceased Shakunthala had `2.8 lakh in her bank account, while the primary banking details showed no major withdrawals. "The investigators are looking to find whether the deceased or the accused had carried out any unaccounted transactions," an officer said.
Meanwhile, the police officers are now awaiting the court directive to conduct a polygraph test of Aswathy, daughter of the deceased.
"The petition was posted for a hearing at the Principal Sessions Court on March 23 for Aswathy to express her opinion on undergoing the test. The woman, however, is yet to accept a notice for the same and may not appear at the court on Friday", they said.
Though Aswathy had earlier moved the court seeking an anticipatory bail, the court dismissed it. The investigation team had earlier collected Aswathy’s statement, but they were riddled with contradictions, they said.
Skeletal remains of Shakunthala were found stuffed inside the concrete filled barrel at Kumbalam on January 8. On the very next day, the prime accused in the case, Sajith was found dead at his house.