Aneesh, a relative of 26-year-old Kevin Joseph who was brutally murdered after being abducted by his wife's relatives, cowers as he recollects the events that unfolded before him on the night of May 26 as both were abducted by a gang allegedly hired by the relatives of Kevin’s lover Neenu.
“I and Kevin went to sleep at 11 pm at my residence in Mannanam. We woke around 1 am to some loud noises and found the shattered glass windows. We were scared when we heard shouts outside the room. Suddenly, somebody broke open the kitchen door and barged into the house. He yelled at us to get out. Seeing him, I ducked in a corner. He charged at me shouting, “you dare to hide the girl?’ I pushed him away and ran to the room where Kevin was sleeping, but he was not there.”
They had already taken Kevin outside and thrown him into a car. When I tried to escape, one of the gang members hit me with a chair. Somehow I managed to shove past him and went to the main hall. But one of the men dragged me out putting a machete to my neck and forced me to get into another car parked on the premises. I had no choice but to obey their orders. When I entered the courtyard, they slapped me hard in the face. Blood started oozing out of my nose and mouth and I was not able stand upright.
They forcibly stuffed me in the car and took the vehicle out. There were five others inside. The gang members told me that they were taking us to Punalur in order to finish us off. It was an Innova. I was sitting in the corner seat in the back row. During the entire journey, they took turns to beat me up.
I had no idea about the route as the tinted glass blocked the view from the inside. They did not allow me to look through the windshield either. Whenever I tried to raise my head, I was beaten hard. Meanwhile, one of them told me that they were hired by the girl’s brother for a sum of Rs 1 lakh and they would go to Goa after finishing this work. They kept telling me that they would kill both of us. They also talked badly about Neenu.
After sometime, one of them handed me a phone and asked to talk to Kevin. They forced me to tell him to forget Neenu. But I did not hear Kevin’s voice and I’m still not sure whether Kevin was there on the other end. I heard them frequently making calls to their aides who were travelling in the other cars. When the car reached somewhere, they told me that it was Thenmala.
“Enjoy the scenic views. You may not be able to see it again,” one of them said. When I felt I might vomit I asked them to stop the vehicle. As I got down, I saw an i20 car parked in front of our vehicle. They took Kevin outside and put him down on the road. I was not sure whether he was alive or dead. Those who were in i20 then charged towards me showering abuses.
That was the last time I saw Kevin. When they realised that he was missing, they asked me to shout out his name, but there was no response from the other side. It was then Neenu’s brother Syanu arrived there in a Wagon R. He let me go after I promised him to send back Neenu.
I travelled with Syanu till Pathanapuram. “Don’t file a case. Tell everybody that Kevin is fine. You should help me find Neenu. I will give you Rs 50,000 as compensation for causing damage to your house,” he told me.
He dropped me at Gandhi Nagar in Kottayam in another Innova car. Before going back, they threatened that I would be killed if I failed to keep the promises.
