Jibin Varghese murder: Victim subjected to brutal attack for two hours by 14-member gang in Kerala
KOCHI: Jibin Varghese, who was found dead on the wayside of Vennala-Palachuvadu Road last Saturday, was subjected to brutal attack for two hours by the 14-member gang. Police said the gang waylaid the youth, pinned him to the ground and showered blows and kicks on him leading to his death.
The incident, which would have been written off as a hit-and-run case, as it was caught on the CCTV cameras installed in the area. As per the postmortem report, broken ribs and internal bleeding caused the victim’s death.
Unveiling the murder mystery, the police said Jibin reached Azeez’s house at Vazhakkala on his scooter around 12.30 am on Saturday. Soon, he was tied up to the grill of a staircase by the gang. Then they started the assault, which continued till 2.30 am. “The victim died in a couple of hours and his body was dumped on the Vennala-Palachuvadu Road. It was a well-planned murder” said City Police Commissioner S Surendran.
The victim had an affair with a member of Azeez’s family. Following this, there existed a feud between the victim and Azeez’s family for a couple of years. It is suspected that Anees, Azeez’s son-in-law, brought the victim to the house by sending WhatsApp messages from another mobile. After confirming the death, the body was brought to the spot in an autorickshaw owned by one of the accused Ali.
Azeez’s son Manaf drove the autorickshaw while another accused Salam sat in passenger seat holding the body. They were escorted by co-accused Shihab and Nizar on the victim’s scooter and by Ali in his car. A joint inquiry by City Shadow Police, Cyber Wing, Dog Squad and Forensic experts, monitored by Thrikkakara ACP Stuart Keeler, cracked the case.