KOLLAM: In a major breakthrough, the CBI on Saturday arrested two men in connection with the murder of a 24-year-old woman, Ranjini, and her 17-day-old twin daughters at Anchal in Kollam, nearly 19 years after the heinous crime.
The accused Divil Kumar B, 42, of Anchal, and Rajesh P, 48, of Sreekandapuram in Kannur were taken into custody from Puducherry, where they have been living under false identities while running a business. Divil Kumar is the alleged father of the murdered twins.
The duo both former Army personnel was arrested following a tip-off from Kerala Police. As part of an ongoing effort to locate absconding persons linked to long-pending cases, the Kerala Police recently examined the details of the accused on Facebook, using an old photograph.
The breakthrough came when it matched with a recent photo uploaded on FB by the accused from Puducherry. The police then shared this crucial information with the CBI, which led to their arrest.
The murders took place on February 10, 2006, in a rented house at Yeram, Anchal, where Ranjini and the newborns were staying. According to FIR, Divil was in a relationship with Ranjini, who gave birth to the twins on January 24, 2006. On the day of the incident, Ranjini’s mother had gone to the panchayat office to secure birth certificates for the twins. Upon her return, she found Ranjini and the babies dead.
The investigation revealed that Rajesh had befriended Ranjini and her mother during the delivery period at SAT Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. He frequently visited their home and assured Ranjini that he would help her marry Divil legally.
The FIR stated that the Kerala State Women’s Commission had decided to conduct a DNA test on Divil to determine the parentage of the twins and had sent him a notice. This was the immediate cause that led to the brutal murders, it said.
Divil and Rajesh had absconded after the incident.
They were Indian Army personnel attached to the 45 AD Regiment in Pathankot. After they went into hiding, the duo was declared deserters by the Army in March 2006. The case, initially investigated by the local police and crime branch, was taken over by the CBI in February 2010 following an order from the Kerala High Court.
Records from the Army unit where Divil was serving showed he had been on leave from January 6, 2006, to March 3, 2006. In 2013, the CBI filed a chargesheet in the case before the Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate. On Saturday, the duo was presented before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Kochi and remanded to judicial custody.
The CBI plans to file a petition on Monday seeking their custody for further investigation and intends to conduct a search at the crime scene in Anchal.