Kottayam: The police have recovered the mobile phones and arms used by the main accused in the alleged murder of a housewife in Kottayam, as they carry forward their investigations.
The police said they found "clinching evidence" in the case during their inquiries at Thanneermukkom carried out on the basis of the statements given by Muhammed Bilal, the accused. Besides mobile phones, they found two old knives, a scissor and keychains Bilal had stolen from the victim's house.
The police’s scuba diving squad found the items from the Vembanadu lake near the Thanneermukkom Bund. Bilal had thrown them into the lake after putting them in a plastic cover, the police said.
Bilal, who is in police custody till Monday, had been arrested for allegedly murdering Sheeba, 55, of Shaani Manzil in Thazhthangadi, Illikkal, in Parappadam, Kottayam, and causing grievous injuries to her husband Salih, 60, that left him unconscious, during a burglary attempt onJune 1.
Sheeba’s body was found near the front door of the house and Salih was lying unconscious near it. He was admitted to the Kottayam Medical College on Monday evening.
Bilal told the police that he had stolen the three recovered mobile phones from Shaani Manzil.
The knives and the scissor were also taken from the house to cut the iron wire he had used to tie Sheeba’s hands and give her electric shock to ensure her death, Bilal said.
A power failure, however, foiled his plan. He then tried to destroy evidence by leaving the cooking gas open before escaping.
He stole gold ornaments from the cupboard and took the keychains he found before leaving the place in the couple’s red Wagon-R car, according to the police.
The police traced Bilal with the help of CCTV footage that showed him fleeing in the car in Chengalam and driving it in Kumarakom.
He abandoned the car near the Vembanadu lake on the old road that was in use before the construction of the new Thannermukkom bridge. He then put the other items in a plastic cover before throwing them into the lake, he said.
The police used the help of nearby professional divers to search the lake on Saturday. They found the dumped items within an hour in a spot about 5 metres from the shore, the police said.
On Sunday, the police, as part of their investigations, will take Bilal to the Illikkal petrol pump where he filled fuel in the car to escape, the areas near the Mohammedan's Higher Secondary School in Alappuzha where he spent some time after abandoning the car, and the lodge where he took a bath and changed his clothes, Kottayam DySP R Sreekumar said.
The police have dismissed claims that Bilal was not mentally stable, saying his general behaviour and scheming in the murder showed that he was normal.
Shaani, the daughter of Sheeba and Salih, has told the police that she doesn't know Bilal. She said Bilal and his family had stayed as tenants at her parents' house.
Shaani, her husband Sudhir and their four children have been put in a quarantine facility in Thoothutti after they arrived from Muscat on Thursday night.
Meanwhile, Salih’s medical condition has not changed much since Saturday.
Salih, who ran a tea shop at the Nagambadam bus stand, is in the intensive care unit of the neurosurgery department of the Kottayam Medical College after undergoing a surgery on the head
