ALAPPUZHA: Harikrishna, a 25-year-old nurse who was found dead at her sister’s house on Saturday, was allegedly raped and murdered by her brother-in-law, the police said. According to Cherthala DySP Vinod Pillai, the postmortem report of the deceased nurse revealed that she was murdered after rape.
“Her brother-in-law Ratheesh alias Unni, 40, Puthenkattumgal, Kadakkarapally, committed the crime when the victim did not surrender to his wishes. The accused picked her up from the bus stop at Kadakkarapally while she was returning from Alappuzha Medical College, where she was employed, on Friday evening. At home, the duo got into a heated argument over the victim’s relationship with a youngster. After killing Harikrishna, the accused left the house,” said the DySP.
The police nabbed Ratheesh from a relative’s house at Chenganda near Cherthala on Saturday evening. Initially, he confessed to murdering the victim. However, after police received the autopsy report and confronted him, Ratheesh admitted to raping her too.
When the crime took place, the victim’s sister, Ratheesh’s wife, was on night duty at a private hospital in Kochi. Ratheesh was produced before the Cherthala Judicial Magistrate Court and remanded in judicial custody on Sunday. Harikrishna’s body was handed over to relatives after postmortem examination, police said.