THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In yet another gruesome incident in the state capital, a 36-year-old man hacked a hotel receptionist to death in broad daylight at Thampanoor on Friday morning. Ayyappan, a native of Nagercoil in Tamil Nadu, was attacked at 8.30am when he was alone at the reception desk. The suspect, Ajeesh, was arrested within hours from near his house at Kollayil, Kalliyodu near Nedumangad.
Police said Ajeesh committed the murder out of personal vengeance, the reason for which is yet to be learnt. “We are verifying his statements. Only when the process is completed can we tell what was the exact reason,” said City Police Commissioner G Sparjan Kumar.
Police sources, meanwhile, revealed Ajeesh had a tussle with Ayyappan when he stayed at the hotel last October. “We are yet to learn what exactly precipitated the tussle. We are also checking for any angle relating to an affair. The suspect is in an intoxicated state and that’s impeding the questioning,” an official said.
The police said Ajeesh was involved in seven criminal cases and his name was included in the history-sheet of the Nedumangad police. Last July, he was arrested for stabbing a youth, who allegedly was in a relationship with his wife, at Korani near Attingal.
Everything's over in seconds
A source claimed the Thiruvananthapuram rural police had recommended his detention under the KAAPA, but the proposal was overturned by the executive magistrate. The arrival of Ajeesh at the hotel and the subsequent murder were caught in the CCTV camera and that helped the police crack the case in hours.
In the footage, Ajeesh is seen approaching Ayyappan without a mask, carrying a bag in one hand and a large machete in the other. Ayyappan, who was sitting in his chair, was first hacked on his hand.
Then the assailant caught him by his head and hacked him on his neck till he collapsed on the table. The whole action took less than 30 seconds.