KOCHI: The police on Sunday arrested a man for allegedly beating a 25-year-old youth to death on suspicion that he was having an extra-marital relationship with his wife.
Suresh Ayyappan, 32, of Puthussery in Palakkad, was arrested for murdering Ajay Kumar, of Kodunthurapully, Palakkad. The incident occurred in the wee hours of Sunday at Nettoor in Kochi. Ajay came to Kochi on Saturday to meet Suresh’s wife, who is working at a private hospital. He was an employee at a finance company in Palakkad.
“Though Ajay and Suresh’s wife were close friends as they worked together in Palakkad, the latter denied the allegation of having an extra-marital affair with him. However, Suresh was suspicious about the relationship. According to Suresh’s wife, Ajay came to Kochi to repay her some money which he had borrowed from her,” a police officer said.
When Suresh’s wife, who is staying at a hostel near the hospital, did not return on Saturday, the hostel authorities informed Suresh about it. When Suresh contacted her, she told him that she would be staying at her friend’s house. Suresh, who grew suspicious, asked her to return to the hostel. As she came back, he picked her up and drove to the hotel where Ajay was staying.
“After asking his wife to sit inside the car, Suresh went to the hotel around 1 am. There was an argument between Ajay and Suresh at the hotel. Though Ajay tried to flee, Suresh hit him on the head using a wheel spanner. He attacked Ajay until he lost consciousness,” the officer said.
By the time the police team reached the spot, Ajay was found lying in a pool of blood on the roadside. Though he was rushed to a nearby hospital, his life couldn’t be saved. “We have taken Suresh into custody. He confessed to the crime and his arrest is recorded. From our preliminary assessment, the suspicion of an extra-marital affair is what led to the murder. We have recorded the statement of Suresh’s wife in this regard,” another official said.
The accused would be produced before the magistrate and remanded to judicial custody. The body would be handed over to the relatives after postmortem.