THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a gruesome incident that shocked the capital late Monday evening, a 17-year-old boy who went missing from his house on Sunday, was found murdered with his body stuffed in a sack and dumped in a farmland in Pangappara near Sreekaryam. The murder was reportedly linked with a suspected affair.
The victim, M D Abhiram, son of AITUC union worker Madhu, was a 12th standard student at NSS Higher Secondary School in Paruthipara. Following the murder, the Sreekaryam police took into custody three persons including a minor girl, her friend and Omar, a person in the goonda list. The accused admitted to committing the crime, the police said.
The boy was missing from his house since Sunday evening. He reportedly left home after receiving a call or an instgram message from the girl, allegedly involved in the crime. “Abhiram left his house in the evening, telling his parents that he was going to meet his friends. As he did not return even after 8pm, the parents lodged a complaint with the Sreekaryam police,” said Stanley D’Cruz, former councillor of Sreekaryam division.
The details of the murder came to light following the police investigation, which focused on Abhiram’s phone call records on Sunday. “From the call records, it was found he left the house after receiving a phone call from the minor girl. We questioned the girl and Abhiram’s other friends to learn about the attempted crime. The three minors, including the victim, involved in the case knew each other before. We have concluded that they had disagreements over a suspected affair,” said an officer.
Following interrogation, the girl revealed more details to the police. “According to her, it was her friend who committed the murder, and informed a local goonda. They abandoned the body. We have taken three persons, including two minors, into custody,” added the police official. The body was found with its hands and legs tied.
“We are yet to establish the exact time of death. The postmortem examination will be conducted on Tuesday. Omar, a local goonda has been involved in the case, and has actively participated in the crime. It is also learnt that the first accused, a minor, has a history of crime, and was involved in a robbery case along with Omar. We are investigating whether the murder was planned,” Sreekaryam SHO Saju Kumar told reporters.
Local people said the place where the body was found is an isolated area. “The place does not have lights and is not easily noticeable. The body was discovered buried, wrapped in a sack after tying the legs and hands. The police and the forensic wing searched the area and found the body,” said a local resident.