MALAPPURAM: The brave action of an autorickshaw driver, Jouhar N, of Palathol in Perithalmanna helped the police nab Vineesh Vinod, who was fleeing the scene after killing his former schoolmate Drishya, daughter of Balachandran of Eladu, for rejecting his love request.
Vineesh flagged down Joufar’s autorickshaw around 8.15am at Palathol, which is one-and-a-half kilometres away from the crime scene and tried to fool the latter to escape from the area. However, Joufar handled the situation intelligently and took Vineesh literally for a ride to the police station.
Vineesh asked Jouhar to help him escape as his motorcycle had met with an accident and that his friend was injured. “He told me that his motorbike collided with a car. He also lied to me that locals in the area rushed his friend to a nearby hospital and that he was running away from the scene fearing that the other residents would attack him as he was speeding,” Jauhar said.
Jouhar promised to take Vineesh to the Perithalmanna police station, but the latter asked him to drop him outside and go back. “He promised me that he would send me the travel charge to my home. By that time, police and locals from Eladu reached Palathol, searching for Vineesh. One of my friends from Eladu called me on the phone and told me about the developments,” Jouhar said.
Jouhar acted smartly to avoid an attack from Vineesh. “He would have attacked me and escaped if he came to know that I was aware of Drishya’s killing. I started talking to him. I mainly talked to him about the insurance coverage for accidents.
My plan was to stop the autorickshaw close to a person who could stop him from running away. When my vehicle reached near the Perithalmanna police station, I saw my friend Subin. I stopped the autorickshaw close to him and asked him to catch Vineesh. Then, we handed him over to the police at the station,” Jouhar said. Kerala Women’s Commission chairperson M C Josephine said in Malappuram that repeated murders in retaliation to rejecting love proposals show lack of alertness by police in handling such cases.
CRIME OF PASSION
Murder most foul
Four years ago, Kerala was shocked to hear about the tragic incident that happened inside the library at the School of Medical Education, Kottayam, where a girl student was set ablaze by her former lover who had been her senior. The man also died of burns.
Lekshmi, 21, a final-year Bachelor of Physical Education student at the Gandhi Nagar centre of SME was killed by her senior Adarsh Suneendran, 26, on February 1, 2017. Adarsh, who came to her classroom with a can of petrol, poured that over her. When she ran into the library, he followed and embraced her and lit fire.
Incidents of crime of passion have repeated in different parts of the state since then. Though perpetrators are held by the police soon after most of the incidents and even courts punishing them in some cases, frustrated youths repeat the crime again.
Recent incidents in state
March 12, 2019 @ Tiruvalla, Pathanamthitta: 20-year-old Kavitha Vijayakumar set ablaze by her stalker Ajin Reji Mathew after she rejected his love plea. The youth hacked her and then poured petrol and set her on fire.
April 4, 2019
@ Chiyyaram, Thrissur: Engineering student Neethu, 22, set ablaze by her ex-lover Nidheesh. She was stabbed several times before he poured petrol and set her on fire.
June 15, 2019 @ Vallikunnam, Alappuzha: Woman police constable Soumya Pushpakaran, 34, killed by her colleague Ajas. Soumya’s scooter was followed by Ajas in a car. He knocked her down and hacked her before pouring petrol and setting her ablaze. Ajas who suffered serious burns died in the hospital later.
October 9, 2019 @ Kakkanad, Ernakulam:
A 17-year-old plus two student killed by her ex-lover who barged into her house, poured petrol and set her ablaze around midnight. The 24-year old culprit, Mithun, also died of burns
Jan 6, 2020 @ Karakkonam,
T’puram: Ashika, 21, killed by her former lover Anu who barged into her house and slit her throat. The youth then committed suicide by slitting his throat.
Jan 8, 2020 @ Kaloor, Kochi: A 17-year-old Plus Two student from Kaloor killed by ex-lover Safar Shah who picked her up in a car and went to Malakkappara on Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. The body of the girl, who died of stab wounds, was found dumped in a plantation at Varattapara in TN.
Apart from these, there were at least a dozen incidents in which women were attacked and inflicted serious injuries on them by jilted lovers in the last three years.