THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Three Keralites — a couple from Kottayam and their friend — were found dead in a hotel at Hapoli in Arunachal Pradesh under mysterious circumstances on Tuesday. Naveen Thomas, 39, and his wife Devi Madhavan, 39, and Thiruvananthapuram native Arya Nair, 29, were found with cut marks on their wrists that caused excessive bleeding, sources said. Devi is the daughter of noted wildlife photographer Balan Madhavan.
The police have found that the journey of the trio, much like their death, was shrouded in mystery. The fact that the deceased went to great lengths to stay incognito throughout their trip to the north-eastern state, and their interest in occultism, have thrown up more questions.
According to source, the Arunachal police have informed that they had recovered a note purportedly penned by the deceased, stating “they have happily lived their lives and are leaving”.
Arya, who taught French in a private school in Thiruvananthapuram city, had gone missing from her house on March 27 following which the Vattiyoorkavu police had registered a case. Naveen and Devi, meanwhile, left for Thiruvananthapuram on March 17 saying they were leaving for a trip to the north-eastern states.
City Police Commissioner C Nagaraju told TNIE that the three subscribed to delusions such as intergalactic travel.
“They were following a group that discussed such absurd content online. We have despatched a two-member team to Arunachal. The trio had carried their electronic gadgets with them. Only after scrutinising them can we get a clear picture as to why they went that far to end their lives,” he said.
Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy chairman Soorya Krishnamoorthy, who is also a relative of Devi, said the couple had fallen into the trap of black magic. “The three are well-educated and one of the women was about to get married within a month. This is a serious issue and people should be sensitised about this. There are many such cases of satanic groups, and there are practitioners of such believes in Thiruvananthapuram. We need to work to get people released from their clutches,” he said.