Kozhikode/Kochi: As the investigation into the confessions of Muhammadali of Vengara regarding a murder committed 39 years ago gains momentum, crucial leads now suggest that the victim in the Koodaranji case may have been a native of a village near the Palakkad–Tamil Nadu border.

The fresh clues came to light from the testimony of O P Thomas, who served as the Sub-Inspector at Thiruvambady police station in 1986 and retired from service as a DySP. According to Thomas, a relative had arrived to claim the body at the time and identified the deceased as Sivan. The man, who spoke Tamil, said Sivan hailed from a village near the border in Palakkad district.

Thomas, now retired and residing in Paravur in Ernakulam, told the investigation team that the relative had been accompanied by a friend who also spoke Tamil. The deceased was estimated to be between 20 and 22 years old and of well-built physique. Back then, investigators concluded that he had suffered an epileptic seizure while standing near a shallow irrigation canal, fallen in, and drowned. Eyewitness accounts and the post-mortem report supported this theory.

However, Thomas expressed doubts over Muhammadali’s recent confession. He informed the investigators that it was difficult to accept the claim at face value as the victim appeared physically stronger than a 14-year-old boy like Muhammadali was back then. Also, there were no injuries on the body to suggest murder and there was also no circumstantial evidence either to support a homicide. This matter has been conveyed to the investigation team, he said.

Muhammadali, in his confession, claimed he had kicked the man, who was performing his morning ablutions on the canal bank, into the water and fled the scene. He said he learned about the death two days later.

The investigation team is now re-examining the post-mortem report from the Kozhikode Medical College in hopes of uncovering more definitive evidence about the victim's identity and the exact cause of death.

Based on Thomas’s inputs, the police are intensifying their investigation in and around Palakkad. Authorities have appealed to the public for help in tracing missing persons from the Kerala–Tamil Nadu border region during October-November 1986. Information can be shared with Thiruvambady Station House Officer K Prajeesh at 94979 47246.

Meanwhile, the special squad has approached the medical college's forensic department for information related to a second murder that Muhammadali claims to have committed in September 1989. The team has also begun efforts to trace a man known as 'Ganja Babu', who Muhammadali alleges was involved in the case. A man known as 'Karate Babu', reportedly from the Adivaram area, is found to have been listed in old police case files. Investigators are now working to record statements from the officers who had handled his earlier cases.