Kozhikode: The 16-year-old son of Shaju and Sily, one among the six victims of the Koodathayi serial murders, has made serious allegations against Jolly Joseph, the prime accused in the case. Jolly, who was the boy’s step mother, treated him badly. He lived in the house like an outsider, the boy told investigating officers.
Jolly often tortured him, said the youngster. He also gave a statement to the police that Sily lost her consciousness after drinking the water offered by Jolly.
The officers had taken the boy’s statement on Saturday, in connection with a separate case registered over Sily’s murder. Jolly’s arrest had earlier been recorded in this case. It is alleged that Sily, first wife of Shaju, who later married Jolly died after she was given a tablet coated with cyanide.
Roy and other five members of the Ponnamattom family at Koodathayi in Kerala's Kozhikode district were murdered one after the other from 2002 to 2016. Roy, who was found dead in 2011, was suspected to have committed suicide and a case of unnatural death.
However, acting on a complaint by Roy’s brother, police had recently commenced a probe into the mysterious deaths in the family and found that Roy was murdered.
His wife Jolly Joseph, who was arrested earlier this month, confessed to killing him as well as five other members of his family by giving them cyanide-laced food or drink.
The Kodenchery police had registered an FIR on the deaths of Tom Thomas, Annamma, Mathew Manjadiyil, Sily and Alphine after the arrest of the accused in the Roy murder case.
The Thamarassery Magistrate Court had on Saturday rejected the bail plea of the three accused Jolly, M S Mathew and K Prajikumar. The court also extended their remand to November 2. The prosecution opposed the bail plea pointing out that the accused could destroy evidence and that more questioning had to be carried out in police custody.
Joly and Prejikumar are now lodged at Kozhikode district jail while Mathew is at special sub jail.
