THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Afan, the sole accused in the Venjaramoodu mass murder case, attempted to take his own life on Sunday by trying to hang himself with a garment inside the toilet of the UTB Block prison.
A duty officer, alerted by the noise, found Afan hanging and rushed him to the medical college hospital. The 23-year-old is in critical condition and remains on ventilator support. The police have been denied permission to record the accused’s statement.
The suicide attempt comes two days after the police filed the first sheet in the murder case. The document was submitted to the Nedumangad Second Class Magistrate Court in connection with the murder of Afan’s grandmother Salma Beevi, 91. The events pertaining to the murder case unfolded on February 24, when Afan brutally killed four of his family members - Salma Beevi, 13-year-old brother Afsan, uncle Abdul Latheef and aunt Shahida - and girlfriend Farsana across three locations in and around the capital. The sixth victim, his mother Shemi, survived the attack with severe injuries.
Afan surrendered later in the evening at the Venjaramoodu police station and confessed to the killing.
In light of Afan’s suicide bid, the Poojappura jail superintendent submitted a report to the prison chief, stating that there was no lapse on the part of the jail officials. It highlighted that the timely intervention of the officer on duty led to the immediate transfer of Afan to the hospital.