PALAKKAD: Two persons were on Saturday arrested by Kuzhalmannam police in connection with the killing of Aneesh, 27, of Elamandam in Kuzhalmannam in a suspected case of honour killing. Those arrested were Prabhukumar,43, and Suresh,45, father and uncle, respectively of Haritha, wife of Aneesh.
Aneesh alias Appu, son of Arumughan was killed near Manamkulambu school in the vicinity of Thenkurissy around 6pm on Friday. Prabhukumar, who had fled after the incident, was traced to Coimbatore from where he was arrested on Saturday. Suresh was nabbed in the wake of the incident.On Friday evening, as Aneesh and his brother Arun were going to purchase groceries on his motorbike, he was attacked with a machete and iron rods by Prabhukumar and Suresh.
Aneesh, who was hacked on the neck, died on reaching the hospital.It was Prabhukumar who had inflicted the injuries on Anish’s neck and leg. Arun, who tried to stop the attack, was also targeted and he later ran away from the scene, say locals.The relatives of Aneesh have alleged that it was an honour killing. They stated that the family of Hairtha was against the marriage since they belonged to different castes. Aneesh was also threatened by Suresh several times. This was the reason for the killing, they alleged.
“Haritha’s uncle had come to the place where Aneesh was staying and threatened him. He had said that he will live only for three months. The killing took place on the penultimate day of the deadline. A bleeding Aneesh was pushed into a nearby canal,” said Arun.
Though Aneesh was rushed to the district hospital by locals, he could not be saved. Haritha also said that her uncle Suresh had taken away the mobile phone of Aneesh on December 9. The matter was reported to the police. Though the police had been apprised of the developments, no action was taken, said some of the kin.However, police said that the family had lodged a complaint stating that the mobile phone was taken away . Subsequently, Suresh was summoned and asked to return the mobile phone. There was no other complaint, officers said.
S Sujith Das, SP, who rushed to Kuzhalmannam, told TNIE that the arrests of Prabhukumar and Suresh will be recorded. He said that it was too premature to call it an honour killing and it will be known only after the investigations. Aneesh and Haritha had been in love right from their school days. It was on September 27, 2020, that they had registered their marriage. As there were threats to Aneesh, he had not gone for work for the past one and a half months.
E P Ramadas, circle inspector, Kuzhalmannam, said that Aneesh belonged to the blacksmith (Kollan) caste and the girl, Haritha to the Veera Shaiva Pillai caste.The body of Aneesh, which had been kept in the district hospital morgue, was handed over to the relatives after post-mortem. After being kept at his
Kuzhalmannam residence, the body was cremated at the Chandranagar electric crematorium in the evening.
According to the post-mortem, which was completed by 5 pm on Saturday, bleeding from the major injuries suffered by Anish on his leg and below the hip resulted in his death. Though there were injuries all over his body, including the neck, they were not severe, said a source associated with the autopsy. The investigation has been handed over to the district crime branch. A team led by DySP Sundram will probe the case.
Meanwhile, the Kerala State Youth Commission, which registered a suo motu case in connection with the murder, sought an urgent report from the district police chief on the incident. According to the commission, it will ensure justice to the girl who had lost her husband. The inquiry into the killing of Aneesh will be conducted by the district Crime Branch.