TNIE reporter Ajay Kanth lists five crimes that made headlines this year
Murders most foul
No other crime shocked Kerala in 2022 more than the Elanthoor human sacrifice. Two women, Padmam of Elamkulam and Rosly of Kalady, were abducted, killed and their bodies chopped into pieces and buried. The crime was committed by Elanthoor couple Bhagaval Singh and Laila with the help of Shafi alias Rashid of Perumbavoor. Shafi had convinced the couple that sacrificing the women would solve their financial problems. The police unearthed the twisted crime while investigating a missing persons complaint registered at Kadavanthra police station. Shafi had lured the two victims to the couple’s house. At present, the trio is in judicial custody. A chargesheet will be filed soon.
Nepalese horror
Foul smell emanating from the house led its owner and later the police to the murder of a Nepalese woman at Kadavanthra. The woman was identified as Bhageerathi Dhami. Aged around 40, she had been living in the house as Lakshmi, a fake name. Her decomposed body had been wrapped in a plastic cover bag inside the rented house. Ram Bahadur Bisti, who lived with her, had gone missing. The Kerala Police took Bisti into custody from Nepal with the help of the local police. He remains in judicial custody. The police are yet to file the chargesheet.
Murder fuelled by drugs
An argument over a drug deal escalated and ended in the brutal murder of 22-year-old Malappuram native Sajeev Krishnan in Kochiby none other than his flatmate K K Arshad, a Kozhikode native. The crime came to light when Sajeev’s friends returned after a vacation. When repeated efforts to contact Sajeev failed, his friends entered the flat in Kochi using a duplicate key. They found Sajeev’s body wrapped in a bedsheet inside a duct in the flat. Arshad had absconded. A probe by police found that Arshad had researched ways to kill a person, even watching a few YouTube videos, on the internet. He was arrested. The police have completed the probe and will file a chargesheet soon.
Fun turns grim
A 24-year-old from Palluruthy was stabbed to death when he tried to prevent some persons from misbehaving with a woman. The incident took place during a musical laser show held at the open ground behind Jawaharlal Nehru International stadium in Kaloor. Rajesh, who was the light and sound technical staff of Port Leaf company that organised the event, was stabbed by Kasaragod native Muhammad Hussain K A. Rajesh had found Hussain and his friends misbehaving with a woman and intervened. Around 11.30pm, Hussain and his friends returned to the venue and picked up a fight with Rajesh and other staff of the organising company. Hussain then stabbed Rajesh multiple times using a sharp object that he had on his person. He was arrested an sent to judicial custody. Police will file the chargesheet soon.
Taxer fraud
In a daring crime, a four-member gang posing as Income Tax officers raided the house of an Aluva native and robbed him in broad daylight. The gang flashed fake ID cards and convinced the victim that they were indeed I-T officers. In the ‘raid’ that continued for one-and-a-half hours, the gang took around 300g of gold and `1.8 lakh in cash. They also took away several documents from the house that belonged to a Maharashtra native who was into gold ornament works. The police arrested all the accused persons, including main accused Haris P K, 52, of Kannur, who had gone into hiding. He is in judicial custody. Of the total six accused, two were from Goa. The chargesheet has been filed.
Case diary
This weekly column brings you exciting, intriguing police stories, straight from the crime files