Rajakkad, Idukki: Amid suspicions that the death of a tribal youth while hunting could be a planned murder, the probe team has said that the accused would be taken into custody and further investigation conducted.
The dead body of Mahendran, of the Irupathekkar tribal colony, was found buried near Pothamedu in Idukki district on Saturday.
Irupathekkar natives Samji and Jomy and Pothamedu native Muthaya, who had gone hunting along with Mahendran, had surrendered at the Rajakkad police station on Thursday. The court remanded the accused on Sunday.
Mahendran had died after being accidentally shot while hunting on June 27, as per the statements given by the accused to the police. The shot was fired by Samji, according to the police.
To keep the incident under wraps, the culprits had burned Mahendran's clothes and buried his body.
Some plantation owners had threatened to kill Mahendran, his mother Bhavani had alleged. Mahendran's brother Balachandran had died after suffering a snake bite a year ago.
The relatives said that Mahendran and the accused were closely acquainted for nearly 10 years. Mahendran, who is from the Mannan tribe, was familiar with the forest area in the Uppala and Pothamedu regions. And due to this, the accused used to take Mahendran along with them for hunting, according to the police.
