THRISSUR: After a period of around 10 years, the anti-temple theft squad in Thrissur, on Wednesday, nabbed the fifth accused in the infamous Praveen murder case, who was successfully evading arrest ever since a case was registered against him in connection with the murder.
R K Jayaraj, superintend of police, anti-temple theft squad, Thrissur, told Express that the fifth-accused, Saji alias Container Saji, from Palluruthy, who remained untraced for the last 10 years, was arrested from Vadakara in Kozhikode following a tip off.
He had been living in the border areas of Andhra, Tamil Nadu for quite some time.
Recently he shifted to Kerala along with his family and the anti-temple theft squad was tracing him for some time since we have received some vital information about his sojourn at various places in Kerala before he settled down in Vadakara.
After a formal quizzing, we would hand him over to Ettumanoor police where the case against him was registered in connection with the murder. The first and the second accused in the case, R Shaji, former Deputy Superintendent of Police (Administration) at Malappuram, and his accomplice and nephew Mevakkattu Binu, were sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court on January 4, 2006.
Though the third and the fourth-accused, Priyan, 32, of Peediyekkal House, Palluruthy and Sunil, 32, of Edathil House, Palluruthy, who were found guilty of the murder of the 24-year-old youth Praveen in 2005 by the prosecution, were sentenced to death by hanging by Kottayam Fast Track Court, they were acquitted by the higher court for want of evidence.
According to the prosecution case, R Shaji, the then serving DySP (Administration), along with his accomplices Binu, Priyan, Sunil and Saji had abducted Praveen and strangled him to death.
Later, they disposed the body of Praveen by hacking it into pieces and discarding it at different places in the state.
The motive for the murder was the alleged illicit relations the victim had with Shaji’s wife and the murder occurred on the night of February 15, 2005. The murder came to light when a severed piece of leg was found near a bridge on a rivulet near Kumarakom on the next day.