KOCHI: A scuffle that broke out over a drug deal ended up in the murder of 23-year-old Sajeev Krishnan, whose body was found wrapped in a bedsheet in a flat on the 16th floor of an apartment at Edachira in Kakkanad. The police learnt the reason behind the murder when they arrested Arshad, the prime suspect in the murder of the restaurant employee.
“Though we were not able to seize any drugs from the flat, there were signs of drug use. We had also got some clues that they were part of a gang involved in drug trading. A scuffle that broke out between the duo might have ended up in the unfortunate incident,” said city police commissioner C H Nagaraju.The commissioner also said Arshad, a resident of Payyoli, was caught on Wednesday from Manjeshwar with the help of Kasaragod police.
“The suspect was under the influence of drugs at the time of arrest. The police also seized drugs including MDMA, ganja and hashish oil from the motorcycle which was in his possession. We need to interrogate him further to find out the roles of other people in the drug and murder cases,” said the commissioner.
Sajeev, a resident of Ambalappady in Malappuram, was found murdered in the flat on the 16th floor around 2.30pm on Tuesday. Sajeev, who worked at a restaurant in Kakkanad, had been staying with his three friends in the flat. Arshad absconded after the incident came to light.
According to the police, Arshad is also a wanted person in a jewellery theft case that was reported in Kondotty recently.“To evade arrest in the jewellery case, the suspect reached Kochi and stayed with his friends. But after the murder, he left for Karnataka on his motorcycle. He also took away Sajeev’s mobile phone from which he replied to other friends, disguising as the deceased,” said the police.
The mobile phone that the suspect used to communicate with other friends also helped the police trace him.“The victim’s three friends were on a tour. They tried to communicate with him through messages, but it was the suspect who used the phone. When we traced the location, we came to know that the phone was in Kasaragod and this helped us trace him,” said the officer.
The commissioner also stated that proper interrogation is required to uncover the involvement of any other person(s) in the crime.“The suspect is still under the influence of drugs. We need to interrogate him to get more information,” the commissioner said.