THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: West Bengal native Adam Ali murdered a 68-year-old woman near Kesavadasapuram to rob her gold ornaments, which is yet to be recovered from the accused, said City Police Commissioner G Sparjan Kumar.
The commissioner said the 21-year-old from Haldibari of Kooch Behar district in West Bengal first slit Manorama’s throat and then strangled her. The body was then dragged to the premises of the neighbouring house and dumped in the well. Before dumping the body, Manorama’s legs were tied using red bricks to prevent it from resurfacing, he said.
The commissioner said Adam had reached Kerala at a very young age, and worked in Kollam and Palakkad districts. It was with the help of a friend Deepak that Adam got a job in a construction site near Kesadavasapuram about 45 days ago.
Sparjan said five West Bengal natives, who were working with Adam, were taken into custody for questioning. However, no clues were found regarding their involvement in the crime, he said and added that Adam has confessed to his crime. The commissioner said that the accused was addicted to online games and the department will verify whether he had any criminal antecedents.
Adam was taken into custody by Kerala police after he was apprehended by Tamil Nadu police from Chennai on Monday with the help of the Railway Protection Force (RPF). After the crime, Adam had left for Thampanoor Central Railway station to catch Shalimar Express to travel to West Bengal. The police team had recovered CCTV visuals which showed him entering the railway station by 4.15 pm. It was found that by the time he reached the station, Shalimar Express had left.
The police then came to the conclusion that he had boarded another train to Chennai from where he could catch the Monday evening’s Howrah Mail. The Tamil Nadu police and RPF were duly alerted by City Police Commissioner G Sparjan Kumar. Based on the alert, Adam was taken into custody from the Chennai railway station. The police said ornaments weighing six sovereigns were robbed by Adam before dumping the body in the well.