Kozhikode: The sensational Koodathayi serial murder case from Kerala's Kozhikode district is back in the limelight with the police filing the first chargesheet on Wednesday. Running into 1,800 pages, the chargesheet relates to the murder of Roy Thomas, the first husband of the prime accused Jolly Joseph.
Apart from Jolly, three others have been named as the accused in the Roy murder case. They are M S Mathew, Prajukumar and Manoj. The chargesheet lists 246 witnesses, 22 pieces of material evidence and 322 documents under 10 Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
"There is sufficient evidence to prove that Jolly was behind the murder of Roy. Moreover, it can be easily established that Roy's death was not a case of suicide," said Rural SP K G Simon, the chief investigating officer.
Meanwhile, Manoj has been charged with forging documents for Jolly and signing agreements related to land deals carried out by the main accused.
At the same time, Simon made it clear that Jolly's present husband Shaju had no role in Roy's murder. "A DNA test is not necessary to prove the Roy Thomas murder case. The chargesheet mentions the result of the chemical analysis that detected cyanide, which was used by Jolly to carry out the murder," he said.
"The accused have been charged with murder, conspiracy, forging documents, destroying evidence and storing a poisonous substance without permission. Ten sections of IPC have been invoked against them. However, there are no approvers in the case," said the police officer.
The mysterious deaths of six members of a family at Koodathayi in Kerala's Kozhikode district and the subsequent arrest of Jolly Joseph had rocked the conscience of Kerala last year, becoming one of the most sensational serial murder cases in the history of the state.
Retired educational department officer Tom Thomas, 66; his wife and retired teacher Annamma Thomas, 57; son Roy Thomas, 40; Tom's brother's daughter-in-law Sily Shaju, 44; her two-year-old daughter Alphine, and Annamma's brother Mathew Manjadiyil, 68; had died under mysterious circumstances in Koodathayi of Kerala's Kozhikode district.
All members of this Ponnamattom family had eerily similar deaths. They all fainted and died after having food with froth coming out of their mouths.
A post-mortem had revealed traces of cyanide in Roy Thomas' body. After the death of her husband, Jolly had married Roy’s cousin Shaju, whose wife Sily and daughter were also killed. The police initiated a probe, after Tom’s another son, Rojo who is in the US, filed a complaint.
