ALAPPUZHA: A police team from Kerala has nabbed the couple — Palliparambil Mathews and wife Sharmila — accused of murdering 73-year-old Subadhra, from Karnataka, two days after the woman’s body was found buried on the premises of a house in Alappuzha.
Mathews, 39, of Kattoor in Alappuzha, and Sharmila, 36, a native of Udupi, were taken into custody from their hideout in Manipal by the team led by Mannanchery station house officer M K Rajesh. “The duo will be brought to Alappuzha by Friday morning. The exact motive behind the crime can be ascertained only after detailed questioning,” said an officer. The body of Subadhra, wife of the late Gopalakrishnan, Sivakripa, Karshaka Road, Kadavanthra, was exhumed from the compound of the rented house of Mathews and Sharmila at Kalavoor on Tuesday.
Police suspect that the couple killed Subadhra for her money. The preliminary postmortem report had revealed multiple injuries on the elderly woman’s body.
Motive can be ascertained only after quizzing: Cops
The police said the couple allegedly sold a portion of Subadhra’s ornaments with her knowledge before the murder. After selling it, `24,000 was transferred to Mathews’ GPay. An aide and distant relative of Mathews, Kattoor native Reynold was also a witness of the deal. Though he was taken into custody, he was later released.
In a statement Reynold gave to police, he along with Mathews and Sharmila went to the jewellery for selling the ornaments.
“Mathews’ financial condition was very bad. It was with her consent that the couple sold the ornaments on August 6,” he told the police. Reynold also arranged a rental house for the couple at Kalavoor. On August 9, the mobile phone of the couple was found to be switched off. However, the duo called Reynold two times from Mangaluru from another number. It helped the police to trace them.
Ajayan, a native of Kattoor, who dug a pit for dumping waste in the house gave a statement to the police that he did so on August 7. “On that day, he had seen Subadhra at the home. He reached home the following day to complete the pit. However, it was covered and the couple said that Mathews filled the pit after dumping waste materials,” the statement said. The police are also cross-examining these statements. An officer said that only after questioning the accused and witnesses one can ensure the exact date and motive of the murder.