
PALAKKAD: The residents of Pothundi Thiruthampadam Boyan Colony were left in shock on Monday morning after a brutal double murder claimed the lives of an elderly woman and her son.
Meenakshi (76) and her son Sudhakaran (58) were killed around 10 am by their neighbor, Chenthamara, who had recently been released on parole.
According to police, the attack took place at the victims’ residence following a heated altercation. Chenthamara, who had been imprisoned since 2019 for the murder of Sudhakaran’s wife Sajitha, fled the scene immediately after committing the crime.
Investigations into Sajitha’s murder had revealed that Chenthamara harbored suspicions against Sudhakaran’s family and some neighbours, blaming them for the disappearance of his wife and child. The trial for Sajitha’s murder was scheduled to begin next month.
A police team, led by the Alathur DySP, has launched a manhunt to apprehend the accused. It is suspected that he fled to the nearby forest, a location where he had also taken refuge after Sajitha’s murder. The victims’ bodies have been moved to the Alathur government hospital for postmortem examination.
The gruesome nature of the crime has left the local community devastated, with scores of people gathering at the crime scene. Shocked residents have voluntarily joined the search for the accused, retracing the areas he had previously used as a hideout. The police are continuing their efforts to bring the accused to justice.