Thiruvananthapuram: Timely and meticulous investigation by the police has turned a case that was earlier recorded as suspicious death to a gruesome murder.

On December 21, local people alerted the Chirayinkeezhu police about an unidentified dead body lying in front of a bar hotel near the taluk hospital. Preliminary investigation identified the deceased as Binu, 50, of Vayalthitta Veettil, Anathalavattom in Chirayinkeezhu panchayat. There were blood stains at the spot where the body was lying and on the victim’s clothes, raising suspicion of foul play.

Police officials and forensic expert examined the body and it was found that Binu was suffering from an acute hemorrhoids condition and the dried stains found on his clothes pointed to rectal bleeding, a common symptom of hemorrhoids.

Hunt begins

The police launched a serious probe into the case after the autopsy report suggested that the man was died of internal bleeding caused by fractured ribs. The local residents and merchants in the locality had seen him in an inebriated state the previous night.

The Chirayinkeezhu police swung into action and gathered evidence from local residents and merchants in the area with the support of its shadow wing. During the course of the probe, a local man passed on a vital lead to the shadow team revealing that he had seen a stranger, who wore no shirt, abusing Binu the previous night. Based on this crucial information, police obtained CCTV footage from the bar and other shops in the vicinity and found a shirtless man with a thorthu draped around his neck roaming around. But his face was unrecognisable.

The cops inspected a lodge in the area and found out that a person had vacated his room just after the incident. The name and the phone number he entered in the guest book were fake. Other than the name of a place – Karakkamandapam – a village near Pappanamcode in Thiruvananthapuram, the address column had no other details. The police collected the phone number and tried out different combinations of the 10 digits. They called on each number and noted down the address of the holders.

After trying out about 100 combinations, the police stumbled on an address belonging to Karakkamandapam. They tracked the mobile phone and collected the Call Data Records (CDR). The mobile tower location of the phone confirmed that its owner was in Chirayinkeezhu on the day the murder took place. After an intense manhunt, the rural shadow police team, led by sub-inspector S Niyas, arrested Nija, 42, of Muja Manzil, near Thaikkapalli in Vellayani. During interrogation, he confessed to having murdered Binu following an altercation.

Narrating the incident, Nija told the cops that the two picked up a fight after he accidentally bumped into Binu and brushed his shoulders against him while coming out of the bar. The verbal duel soon took a turn for the worse as the accused, in a fit of rage, pulled Binu up, grabbing him by the legs, and threw him to the ground forcefully. Binu fractured his ribs in the fall and died of internal injuries and heavy bleeding.

History-sheeter

Further investigations revealed that Nija had been booked on charges of culpable homicide two years ago. The victim was Basheer of Karakkamandapam, whose body was found inside a drainage near Poovar. Incidentally, that case too was cracked with the help of mobile phone CDR analysis. Financial dispute between the deceased and Nija was the reason behind the attack.

According to the charge-sheet, Nija forced Basheer into a car and beat him up. Following the brutal assault, Basheer collapsed and died of cardiac arrest. Nija went into hiding after dumping the body in a drainage channel near Poovar. Later, he was arrested from Tamil Nadu.

Apart from this case, which was investigated by the Kanjiramkulam police, there is theft case against him registered at the Cantonment station, the police said.

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