Harihara Varma, 59, who claimed to be a member of the Mavelikkara Valiya Kottaram, was found dead, allegedly killed during a deal to sell diamonds, at a house at Puthoorkkonam, Vattiyoorkkav, in the city on December 24.
According to the statement given by Haridas, a lawyer who claimed that the crime had taken place in his presence, the suspects, a three-member team, had smothered him and Varma with chloroform, the overdose of which caused the death of the latter. But, the police so far have not reached any conclusion about the cause of death, neither could they trace the culprits.
The crime was carried out at the house of the daughter of Haridas, who was the middleman in the deal. Later reports said that the stones which Varma tried to sell were not costly ones and that Varma was not a member of any royal family.
The police are groping in the dark about the mysterious background of the deceased and clues leading to the culprits.
On December 8, Anand, a 24-year-old youth, was hacked to death at Poundkadav near Thumba. The accused, Shibu alias Blacky Shibu, 35, Subhash, 30 and Binu, 27, all belonging to Thumba, were nabbed by the police the very next day. According to the police, Subhash killed Anand following a quarrel over the purchase of ganja and the other two accused helped him to escape by providing a hideout. All the accused are notorious goons.
On September 6, Saji, a tipper lorry driver, was hacked to death by a gang at Nedumcaud near Karamana. He was killed allegedly by the gang members of Ajith Kumar alias Ammaykkorumakan Soju in an attempt to trap Choozhattukotta Amibili, Soju’s bete noire. The police later arrested all the accused, including the key person, Soju. A speedy trial was carried out in the murder case of Kannadi Shaji, a gangster who was killed in November 2011. On December 1, the Thiruvananthapuram Principal Sessions Court awarded life imprisonment to four persons who were found guilty in the case.