Wayanad: A massive search operation in a remote forest near the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border has unearthed a previously unknown body and possible answers to a missing case shrouded in mystery.

A police team from Kozhikode exhumed a dead body from Kappikkadu, near Chermabadi in Tamil Nadu, hardly 3 km from the Kerala border, on Saturday afternoon. It was suspected that the body belonged to Hemachandran, 52, a native of Sulthan Bathery, Wayanad, who had shifted to Mayanad, Mundikkaltahzham, Kozhikode, for business activities about 20 years ago, and had been missing since March 20, 2024.

The police had recently taken two people into custody in connection with the case. Those taken into custody were Panangad Jyothishkumar, a native of Madakkara near Sulthan Bathery, and Ajesh B S, a native of Vellappana, Palluvadi.

The search operation was conducted following some hints from the two accused during their interrogation as part of the investigation. It is learnt that the duo were accomplices in disposing of the body.

A massive search operation

The search operation started by 10 am. The team consisted of more than 100 members, comprising personnel from the police forces of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, as well as officials from the revenue and forest departments of Pandallur, Nilgiris. Police believe that the murder was committed at Kozhikode, and the accused brought the body to Kappikkadu after several attempts to dispose of it at various other spots on the way. Buried deep in a marshy forest, the accused believed that nobody could trace out the spot or the body.

It took more than four hours for the team to identify the spot, as bushes and grass covered the area. The team was supported by sniffer dogs and also used metal detectors to know the presence of any metal parts like knives or spades.

Kozhikode Assistant Commissioner of Police A Umesh, who headed the search operation, told Onmanorama that they believe the body exhumed belongs to Hemachandran. “But we can confirm it only after performing the DNA test on body samples”, he said, adding that the body samples would be collected during the postmortem to be held at Government Medical College, Ooty. He said that the accused had murdered the man and may have been inspired by the Malayalam film ‘Drishyam’. In the movie, police failed to trace the body of a youth who was murdered, even after years of investigation. “I assure that in reel life, the villains may emerge as heroes, but in real life, the Kerala police would emerge as heroes”, he said, hinting that the accused are in the police net. “The interrogation of the accused is on and some of them have moved to the Gulf”, he said, adding that a detailed media briefing would be held at Kozhikode on Sunday, after the team returns from Ooty.

A missing case clouded in mystery

According to sources in the police, Hemachandran had woven out a vast network of contacts in the business circle of Kozhikode. He used to lend money to people and had links with local moneylenders as well as businessmen.

In April 2024, Hemachandran’s wife approached the Medical College police in Kozhikode and registered a complaint to locate her missing husband. According to the complaint, the man had been missing since March 20, when he went with two people who had come to pick him up. He had only told his wife that he would be back soon. She waited for a few days, hoping that he would return. His mobile phone was on at times and was found moving. When called, the call was unattended most of the time, but at times it was attended, sans any sound from the other side. Messages sent on WhatsApp were read, indicated by blue ticks. She believed that either Hemachandran was absconding because he was afraid of someone, or he might have been kidnapped.

However, a special team was constituted, which started the investigation, focusing on the Call Data Record (CDR) details. Tracking the calls, police found that Hemachandran had left home soon after receiving a call from a mobile number. The search ultimately led to a woman, a friend of the missing man. Weeks of surveillance on the woman and the other phone calls received by her led to the discovery of two different mobile phones that were located in the same area under the same mobile tower on the same day. Police had conducted a series of questioning of the suspects and let them off, giving them the impression that they had been let off scot-free.

Meanwhile, to create an impression that the man was alive, once in a while, the accused kept the mobile phone 'on' and also put it in the neighborhood of his female friend, to create a feeling that the man was living close to the residence of the woman which had misled the police.