Idukki: The Nedumkandam Police said Friday that three men they took into custody had murdered Mavadi native Palakkal Sunny (57) on the suspicion that he tipped off the cops about an illegal arrack business.
The accused, ‘Beekaran’ Thakidiyil Saji aka Yohanan John, 50, Mukulelparambil ‘Kodakambi’ Binu, 60, both residents of Mavadi and Binu's relative, Kalidukkil Vineesh, 38, of Thingalkadu near Adimaly were taken into custody on Thursday.
Sunny died after a bullet from a county-made gun hit his head while he was sleeping inside his house at 11.30 pm on Tuesday.
Nedumkandam CI Jerlin V Scaria said: “The motive for the murder was that Saji suspected Sunny of tipping off the cops about the illegal brewing of arrack by Binu. Saji had instructed Binu to make arrack and the latter was arrested for it in March.”
The trio has admitted to criminal conspiracy and murder, said the police. They were remanded to judicial custody on Friday.
“The main accused, Saji, who fired at Sunny was earlier acquitted from a murder case at Kambakal in Devikulam in 1994 in which ‘Beekaran’ Thoma was shot dead and his body hidden after being cut in two,” CI Scaria said.
The country-made gun used for the murder was recovered from a pond 150 metres away from Sunny's house Friday noon. Another country-made gun used by the gang was also recovered from a meadow close to the pond.
According to Kattappana DySP V K Nishad Mon, the trio gathered on Tuesday night at Binu’s house situated close to Sunny's. After consuming alcohol they decided to take revenge on Sunny. They took position inside the cardamom farm near Sunny’s house and fired several times at the kitchen door through which one bullet hit him.
