Thiruvananthapuram: In a swift operation police arrested a known gangster who hacked to death a hotel receptionist in the heart of the Kerala capital.
The murder took place on Friday morning and the killer, Ajish, 36, of Ajish Bhavan at Kollayil in Nedumangad, was arrested by the police in the afternoon itself.
Interrogation revealed the murder was a fallout of a spat between Ajish and his victim, Ayyappan, who hailed from Nagercoil. Both had a quarrel three months ago. The receptionist had made fun of Ajish as the latter used the washroom frequently. Slighted, Ajish had threatened to avenge Ayyappan.
The crime was reported from City Palace hotel near the Thampanoor overbridge in Thiruvananthapuram city.
Ajish came to the hotel on a bike and then hacked Ayyappan several times, CCTV footage shows.
The assailant was reportedly intoxicated and that emboldened him to commit the ghastly crime in broad daylight.
The CCTV footage shows Ajish entering the hotel holding the machete. Other than Ayyappan, there was only another employee, a roomboy, at the hotel at the time of the incident though he was not nearby.
The incident came to light when the roomboy, who went outside to dispose garbage, came back and saw Ayyappan lying in a pool of blood.
Later, the Shadow Police took Ajish to custody from Kalliyodu. The local people told the police that he was a workshop mechanic.
Ajish is an accused in the murder of a girl in Attingal. He is an accused in eight criminal cases. His name features in the police list of goons.
According to the hotel owner, Ayyappan had never told him about any dispute with Ajish. Ayyappan is a relative of the hotel owner.
