PALAKKAD: In a shocking revelation, a youth who was arrested for burglary in Pattambi told the police during questioning that he had killed his friend and buried him in an uninhabited compound in Palappuram near Ottappalam two months ago. Following this, the Pattambi police took Mohammed Feroze, 25, to Azheekalparambil in Palappuram to the spot and recovered the remains of the dead body.
Feroze was arrested in connection with a 2015 robbery case. The deceased, Ashiq, 24, a native of Lakkidi, was also a co-accused in the case. The police were questioning Feroze to know about Ashiq’s whereabouts. However, Feroze told the police that he killed Ashiq and buried him in the uninhabited compound after an altercation broke out between them over sharing the loot.
He revealed that the murder took place last December. Subsequently, a large posse of police personnel, along with the accused youth, went to the area. The police found the body after two hours of search which began in the afternoon.
Shoranur DySP V Suresh led the team consisting of circle inspectors of Ottappalam V Baburaj and Pattambi Abdul Muneer. The dog squad also was pressed into service. There were fingerprint and forensic experts as well. The Ottappalam RDO was also present.
The remains will be sent to the labs for examinations for confirming that it was Ashiq’s body. Meanwhile, the relatives of Ashiq also reached the spot. According to the residents, Ashiq had been missing since December 17, 2021. They said that he never came home since he became an accused in the burglary case. Nobody had given any complaint at the police stations with regard to the missing of Ashiq till date, said the Ottappalam police.