KOCHI: This case might seem like a thriller film plot. In 2018, the Kochi police were left flummoxed when officers discovered a human skeleton inside a drum filled with concrete at Kumbalam, about 10km from Vyttila junction.
The body was nearly two years old, and investigators were unable to trace the victim’s identity. “We were clueless... it was all blank,” recalls former Ernakulam South circle inspector Sibi Tom, who headed the probe. “All we had was the skeleton. And autopsy proved the victim was a woman.”
Then came a major breakthrough with the recovery of a 6.5cm malleolar screw from the skeleton. “It had been implanted following a fracture in the victim’s leg,” says Anil Purushothaman, an officer who was part of the investigation team.
“From the barcode on the screw, we identified the manufacturer. We got the list of patients who got implants from that particular brand in Kerala.” Officers noted only six people had undergone surgical procedures for leg fracture using the screw, at a hospital in Tripunithura. Five of them were traced. One woman was missing.
“This helped us confirm that victim was 54-year-old Udayamperoor native K S Sakunthala,” says Anil. “However, the mystery remained unsolved, as we were clueless about the murderer.” On examining her call records, investigators zeroed in on an animal welfare activist T M Sajith — who had died by suicide — as the suspect. “We came to understand that Sajith had met Sakunthala. He had an illicit relationship with her daughter Aswathy,” says Anil.
“Sajith was married. Sakunthala threatened to reveal the relationship to his wife during an argument. Following this, Sajith murdered her. With the help of a polygraph test, we established Aswathy also had a role in the crime.” Sajith ended his life two days after the Sakunthala’s body was discovered, and police launched a probe.