Twenty days after the death of his mother was confirmed and the mortal remains were exhumed, R Selvaraj is waiting for the police to release them to his family. The 27-year-old man is the son of Padmam, one of the two victims of the Elanthoor human sacrifice case.
Selvaraj, a native of Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu, has been living in his aunt’s rented house at Kaloor in Kochi since he reached Kerala on September 28 in search of his mother.
In the shabby two-room house, he is caught between the memories of his mother and the delay in completing the legal procedures. Once the formalities are over, he wants to take the mortal remains back home and lay his mother to rest.
The police can release the mortal remains of the victims to their families only after DNA tests are completed. But nobody has a clear answer when the examinations will be finished.
The mortal remains of Padmam are kept in the mortuary of the Kottayam Medical College Hospital and the samples for DNA test have been sent to the State Forensic Science Laboratory in Thiruvananthapuram. The DNA test is meant to confirm the identity of Padmam whose body was chopped into 56 pieces by the accused.
Selvaraj, meanwhile, has lost his job in an IT company in Chennai due to the long leave he had to take. His family members, including the aunt – Padmam’s sister Palaniyamma – can go to work only after burying the body as per their customs.
Selvaraj has written to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to intervene in the matter and hand over the body of Padmam to the family at the earliest. Over 10 members of his family had come to Kochi after Padmam's murder came to light and all of them, except Selvaraj and an uncle, have gone back. The uncle will also return soon. But Selvaraj has to stay back. “It’s my mother. How can I go back without her,” Selvaraj told Onmanorama, sitting on a coat in the house opposite the Shiva Temple on Kaloor-Kadavanthra Road.
In his handwritten letter to the chief minister, Selvaraj says he is struggling to survive without a job and money and requests the government to release his mother’s body to him without delay. “There has been no help from the government. Only the police and journalists have contacted us,” Selvaraj told Onmanorama, reiterating a charge he has raised in his letter to the chief minister.
“Mine and my elder brother's blood samples were taken for the DNA test on October 13. Since then I have been enquiring to the police when will the tests be finished. Till now, I haven’t received any information regarding a date. Over 10 relatives had been waiting here to receive the body. I sent them all back as we have run short of money to survive here. When the police tell us the date to hand over the body, they will come back,” Selvaraj said.
Selvaraj said when he was a student he used to come to Kochi during vacations to visit his parents and do odd jobs to support his family. Padmam and her husband used to work in Kochi for years. Selvaraj said his parents were very particular about their children’s education unlike many others in their village. Selvaraj is a post-graduate in computer science while his elder brother Settu holds an M Phil in English literature. Settu recently joined as a lecturer in a government college, Selvaraj said.
Congress offers help
A District Congress Committee delegation, led by president Muhammed Shiyas visited Selvaraj at the Kaloor house on Saturday. The opposition party offered monetary aid and necessary provisions for the family. Shiyas said the government has been insensitive to the family's plight.
Forensic tests to take time: Police
A police source said the delay in handing over Padmam's body to the family was unavoidable as the procedure is a time-consuming one. The delay is because the forensic team has to conduct the DNA test with all 56 samples of the body. Once the remains are cremated, the evidence will be gone forever. “The police have to ensure that all the 56 pieces of the body were that of Padmam. We cannot risk leaving a loophole that could undermine the entire case during the trial,” the source said. It is learned that the city police commissioner has urged the forensic team to speed up the procedures.
The DNA test result of the other victim, Kalady native Rosly, is also pending. Police uncovered her death during the probe to trace Padmam. The mortal remains of the two women were exhumed from the premises of the house of Bhagval Singh, a massage therapist, and his wife Laila, at Elanthoor in Pathanamthitta.
Police said the mastermind behind these crimes was Mohammed Shafi who befriended Singh through social media and convinced him to conduct black magic for prosperity. Rosly was murdered and dismembered in the first week of June and Padmam in late September, police said.