THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a startling twist to the murder of a 17-year-old student at Sreekaryam, the police have revealed that the murdered M D Abhiram was not the original target. The police investigation found that the accused called Abhiram to a secluded place in order to lure his friend, whom they wanted to eliminate because of a personal dispute over a suspected affair. The investigation revealed that Abhiram was strangulated.
Abhiram, a Plus-II student, went missing on Sunday night and was found murdered at an isolated area in Pangappara, near Sreekaryam, late Monday evening.
The police subsequently took into custody three people, including a minor boy, an 18-year-old girl and Umar Muftar, a KAAPA accused. Based on the evidence and statements from the accused, Sreekaryam police on Tuesday recorded their arrest. While the boy is the first accused in the murder case, Umar has been listed as the second accused and the girl, who called Abhiram to the secluded place, the third accused.
City Police Commissioner Arul R B Krishna said the multiple-member team had planned the murder. “The accused were questioned in detail and we came to know that the motive for the murder was a dispute between the first accused and a boy — a friend of Abhiram’s — in connection with an affair. The team had planned to eliminate the boy.
For this, Abhiram was called to the spot and was asked to get in touch with his friend. Abhiram, however, refused. The ensuing argument resulted in Abhiram’s murder. On questioning, the accused admitted to committing the crime,” the commissioner said. The police received crucial leads to the missing case from social media messages of the third accused, besides CCTV footage.