KOCHI: The 72-year-old woman found dead on Monday at her residence in Kallad, Kothamangalam, was hacked multiple times on her neck, the police have said. Going by the pattern adopted by the assailant, the police suspect it to be a case of planned murder to steal ornaments.
Saramma, wife of the late Eliyas, of Chengamanattu House, was found lying in a pool of blood when her daughter-in-law, Silju, a schoolteacher, returned from work at 3.30pm. The police were soon called in after she informed her husband, Eldhose, who was at a nearby church, of the incident.
According to the FIR registered at the Kothamangalam police station, four gold bangles weighing 32 grams and a gold chain weighing 16 grams worn by her -- worth Rs 2.94 lakh -- were found missing.
“During the inquest procedure, we identified three deep cuts on her neck. That might be a reason for her death. However, further clarification about the cause of death would be revealed in the postmortem report,” Ernakulam Rural Police Chief Vaibhav Saxena, who visited the crime spot, said.
The initial impression was that Saramma died because of a head injury after being hit by some hard object, he said.
Pointing to the possibility of it being a well-planned operation, the officer said: “If anyone randomly makes such an attempt, the accused would be leaving traces of evidence, which is absent in the case. We suspect that someone who knew that Saramma would be alone at home was involved in the murder and theft. Similarly, sprinkling of turmeric powder also reveals that it was a planned execution.”
The police are interrogating three persons from Assam living in the locality, after it was found that one of them did not go to work on Monday.
“We are not narrowing our probe to just the migrant workers living in the locality. We have prepared a detailed list of suspects. We have received some information following the probe. However, the information has to be double-checked before proceeding further. We have checked CCTV cameras in the area. We hope to nab the persons behind the incident soon. Our best investigators are working on the case,” Saxena said. The forensic team, fingerprint experts and the dog squad examined the crime scene. The police dog stopped the trail after running towards the house of a neighbour. The body of Saramma was handed over to relatives after the postmortem examination on Tuesday. Shocked by the murder, people from different parts of Kothamangalam had gathered at the house after the incident.
Thorough probe
The forensic team, fingerprint experts and the dog squad examined the crime scene. The police dog stopped the trail after running towards the house of a neighbour
