THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Medical College police on Friday recovered the knife that was allegedly used by West Bengal native Adam Ali to stab a 68-year-old woman at Kesavadasapuram. Manorama was allegedly stabbed and then strangled to death by the 21-year-old construction worker on Sunday.
The police on Friday took the youth to the crime scene as part of evidence collection. Adam’s presence provoked local residents, who tried to manhandle him. The police had to push back the crowd to protect Adam.
The knife was recovered from a ditch near Manorama’s house. The police, meanwhile, are yet to locate the gold ornaments of Manorama, which were allegedly snatched away by the suspect after the murder. The police had claimed that Adam murdered the woman to rob her gold ornaments. Before dumping the body in the well, Manorama’s legs were tied using red bricks to prevent the body from floating.
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 4.15pm. 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 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.