Alappuzha: The passing of a 74-year-old man in Alappuzha that had been written off as unnatural death by relatives has turned out to be a murder. The Kurathikad Police have said that 24-year-old Mandeep alias Raja is the accused.
The deceased, Bhaskaran (74), a native of Oachira, was in a live-in relationship, for the past one year, with the mother of Mandeep, who resided at the Parangodi Colony. Mandeep did not approve of the relationship, the police said.
“Upset over the relationship, Mandeep brutally assaulted and hit Bhaskaran’s head on the wall on the night of October 15,” a police officer said.
But Mandeep's mother, who admitted Bhaskaran to the Medical College Hospital at Vandanam, had said he was injured after falling off a tree. Bhaskaran died at the hospital on November 1. Later, the woman reached the police station and gave a statement for unnatural death in an apparent bid to save her son.
However, the Kurathikad Police found contradictions in her statements and launched a probe. The preliminary investigation revealed that Bhaskaran did not die from falling. The verified this from postmortem report and by analysing scientific evidence, and questioning witnesses.
Meanwhile, Raja went into hiding and was taken into custody two days later from Mannamoola in Peroorkada in Thiruvananthapuram. During interrogation, the accused admitted to committing the murder and explained the modus operandi too, the police said.
A team led by Kurathikad SHO Mohith P K conducted the investigation, which was supervised by Chengannur DySP M K Binukumar. The accused was produced before the Mavelikkara Court and remanded.
