KOLLAM: A killing craving for alcohol turned fatal after a man was arrested on Wednesday, nearly a month later, for causing the death of his friend at Paravoor. The friends fought over a bottle of alcohol near the railway track and one of them was hit by a train. 27-year-old Manikandan of Njarottu Colony in Kalayakode was arrested for causing the death of his friend Ashokan, 35, of Varambitta Veettil in Kalayakode. Ashokan’s death was completely in the dark until his friend’s arrest on Wednesday.
The incident happened on the night of April 17, when three friends - Manikandan, Ashokan and Sahadevan- decided to meet for a drinking bout at a vacant house at Ollal. Manikandan paid for a half-a-litre bottle of alcohol.
Halfway through the booze party Manikandan and Sahadevan left for buying food, leaving Ashokan alone. When they returned with food Ashokan had left the place with the alcohol bottle. According to Paravoor police, Sahadevan left for home while Manikandan went searching for Ashokan.
Manikandan came to know from a friend Ashokan had walked towards the railway track and finally met him near Paravoor overbridge at 7 pm. They started fighting over the bottle. During the fight, Ashokan was pushed under a speeding train. He died on the spot, and Manikandan fled the scene. “He narrated the whole incident to his friend Shibu,” said Paravoor CI, Ajith Kumar. The case was solved after Shibu revealed the details of the crime during interrogation.
Accused remanded
Paravoor police investigated the case following a complaint by Ashokan’s mother, Omana. Manikandan was charged for culpable homicide. He was produced before a court which remanded him in custody. Police recorded the statements of Manikandan’s friends before the magistrate. Sub-inspectors, including N K Prashanth, Bipin Prakash, Madhu, Satheeshan, Anil Kumar, ASI Raju, civil police officers such as Shafi, Biju, Liju were part of the investigation team.