Thiruvananthapuram: A six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by the Thiruvananthapuram Cantonment Superintendent of Police will probe into the mysterious deaths of three Keralites at a hotel in Arunachal Pradesh.
Mobile phones and laptops seized from the hotel room of the deceased will be sent for detailed examination, police said.
Kottayam native Naveen Thomas (39), his wife Devi (39) and their friend Arya (29) were found dead in a hotel room in Itanagar on April 2 under mysterious circumstances. According to police, self-inflicted injuries with blades were found on their bodies. It is assumed that they ended life while performing some black magic ritual.
Police found Naveen and Devi, who were Ayurvedic practitioners, used a secret language in their emails to Arya. "They have been engaged in discussing about the afterlife since 2021 through email," said a police officer. Arya reportedly received the email from a person named Don Bosco. Police assume that Naveen tactfully created this fake email address to conceal their communication.
The staff at the hotel, where the trio ended life, told police that Naveen did not give ID proof of the two women during the time of check-in.
“We suspect that their decision to end life at Zero Valley in Arunachal is linked to their belief,” said DCP Nidhin Raj who is in charge of the probe. The probe team has been trying to find the people who attracted Naveen and Devi to black magic.
According to police, the trio used to spend time on the internet researching topics like the afterlife, extraterrestrial life and the existence of aliens, among others.
Devi and Arya, hailing from Thiruvananthapuram's Vattiyurkavu, befriended while working at a school. The investigation that finally tracked the three to Arunachal Pradesh began after police started probing into the missing person complaint filed by Arya's father on March 27. Meanwhile, Naveen and Devi left for Arunachal after telling their parents that they were going on a vacation. The three had reached the Itanagar hotel on March 28.
The mortal remains of Devi and Arya were cremated at Santhikavadam in Thycaud on Thursday, while Naveen’s body was taken to his home town in Kottayam.
