Kochi: Kerala Police have arrested Premkumar, who hails from Changanassery in Kottayam district, for allegedly killing his wife and dumping her body in a forest three months ago. His woman friend, Sunitha, was also arrested for alleged conspiracy.
According to the police, Premkumar and Sunitha killed the former's wife Vidya, who hailed from Cherthala in Alappuzah district, on September 21.
Sunitha is working as a nursing superintendent at a hospital in Thiruvananthpuram.
The two accused knew each other since childhood, the police said.
Police will produce Premkumar and Suntitha at the court soon.
Police version
Police said Premkumar and Sunitha strangled Vidya to death on September 21 at their friend's house in Peyad in Thiruvananthpuram. The body was then dumped in forest area in Tirunelveli.
Prior to the murder, the accused had deposited Vidya's mobile phone in the dustbin of the Thiruvanantapuram-Mumbai Netravati Express.
The police have initiated steps to retrieve the body and conduct post-mortem.
How Prem fell into police net?
Premkumar and Vidya lived in a rented house in Tripunithura in Ernakulam district. Prem is working in a private company in Ernakulam.
Police launched a probe into Vidya's disappearance on September 23 after they received Premkumar's complaint.
But police said they closed in on Premkumar after finding contradictions in his statement.
Vidya's phone, which was dumped in the train, was eventually located somewhere in Bihar. When Premkumar came to know about this, he apparently told his neighbours that she might have gone to meet their daughter studying in Goa. The police also became suspicious when Premkumar vacated the rented home in Tripunithura immediately after Vidya's disappearance.
Police took Premkumar into custody three days ago.
School reunion fostered relationship
Premkumar and Sunitha had studied in the same school in Thiruvananthapuram, but they were not in touch for many years. However, a recent alumni association get-together helped them renew their friendship. Police said the duo began to exchange Whatsapp messages, and the relationship grew stronger.
Following this, Sunitha, who was living with husband and three children in Hyderabad, moved to Thiruvanathapuram. Since then, she has been working as a nursing superintendent at a private hospital.
Film influence
Police said the accused have confessed that two influential super-hit movies - Malayalam film Drishyam and Tamil flick 96 - motivated them to commit the murder.
Drishyam, starring Mohanlal, portrays how the protagonist destroyed evidences of a murder to protect his family.
Vijay Sethupathi-Trisha-starrer 96 is all about the nostalgic reunion of the 1996-batch school students.
Confession
Trikkakara Assistant Commissioner of Police M Viswanath told mediapersons that the accused have confessed to the murder and that they killed Vidya to live together.
"Sunitha played a key role in ensuring the death and dumping the body," Viswanath said.
