Alibhai (L) says he had arrived in Kerala with the murder plan on March 24, along with Appunni Rajan and called in Tanseer (R).Kollam: In an early morning search the police recovered the weapons allegedly used to kill Rajesh Kumar, a folk singer and former radio jockey, on March 27 at Karunagappalli.
A sword and machete were recovered by the diving team from Coast Guard and local divers from a deep whirlpool in the river under the Kannettanetti Bridge at Kollam Wednesday.
The police had conducted the search based on the information provided by the apprehended murderers, Saleh bib Jalal, aka Alibhai, the prime accused and the third accused Tanseer, who were also present at the site during the search.
The accused had earlier told the police that they had abandoned two weapons at the murder site and thrown other two along with Tanseer's blood-stained clothes into the river.
Earlier, Alibhai, the main accused in the murder has told the police that he had killed Rajesh for personal reasons and was not paid or hired to commit the crime. He claimed that he carried out the crime out of revenge for Rajesh who wrecked the family of his dear friend Abdul Sathar, who was also his business partner.
Alibhai, the prime accused and Tanseer, third accused in the case: ManoramaDespite the confession, police are still investigating the possibilities of the involvement of Sathar, whose wife allegedly had a relationship with the murdered singer.
It is suspected that the Doha businessman had funded the murder after his marriage broke down.
The police insist he was the main plotter and was aware of all that happened, and have initiated efforts to bring him to Kerala.
Alibhai has told the investigators that he and Sathar had been close friends for long. He is also a co-owner and trainer at the gym owned by Sathar in Doha.
Murder motive
The accused entered Rajesh’s studio in Madavur in the wee hours of March 27 and hacked him to death: ManoramaSathar and his wife had split up after she got 'too close' to Rajesh. According to Alibhai, that hurt him and he wanted to finish off Rajesh.
But the police claim evidence that Sathar had paid the money to the killers in three instalments. Alibhai has admitted that Sathar had paid for his Doha-Thiruvananthapuram air ticket.
What Alibhai says
Alibhai said he had called in Tanseer, who was in Kerala.
“We observed Rajesh and his surroundings for two days. Then, in the wee hours of March 27 we entered Rajesh’s studio in Madavur and hacked him to death”, he reportedly told the police.
Alibhai had also admitted having fled to Qatar via Kathmandu two days after the murder.
He has admitted that the murder plot was hatched in the Gulf.
The police team had on Tuesday taken him to Kannettanetti Bridge at Kollam to recover murder weapons. However, scuba divers could not find any weapon in the area.
Alibhai and third accused Tanseer were later taken to Madavur by 6.30 pm for gathering evidence.
A huge crowd had gathered to see the accused who were brought amid high security. The accused, their heads covered in black, were escorted out of the police vehicle one after the other. However, the police had to wind up in 15 minutes and leave as the crowds got restless.
Both the accused will be produced in a court on Wednesday.
More killers at large
The investigators said they will be sought in custody for further grilling and gathering of evidence.
Appunni, the second accused, is at large. Swati Santosh, who had provided assistance to the killers, was remanded by the Attingal court the other day. An accused in several cases, he was the one who bought the sword used for the murder from Kundara and handed it over to the gang.
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