Jayesh, the key accused in the brutal torture of two men in Pathanamthitta, had run away with Reshmi, the other accused, when she was a class 10 student. He was named as a POCSO accused and the case was settled when he agreed to marry her. He had moved with his parents from Kallippara to the nearby panchayat Koipuram. 

The chilling tale of torture unfolded in a modest house with three crammed rooms surrounded by rubber trees at Anthalimon colony. The police officials associated with the probe said that his reticent nature and slight build belied a mind that harboured devilish notions bordering on the perverse. He had used pipe wrench and dumbbell iron rod to inflict bone-crushing blows on his targets. He had them tied to the bed and aimed mainly at the ribs and knee cap. "The manner in which he attacked them was inhuman. The videos were recorded on Reshmi's mobile phone and were later transferred to his phone," said a police official.

The cops haven't fully decoded the motive. The officials said that he may have been driven to psychotic levels of rage by a sense of betrayal. One of the complainants in the case was a close friend of Jayesh. They worked together in the workshop for 13 years. "When Jayesh realised that his friend and wife got close, he may have felt betrayed and angry. According to Reshmi, she agreed to put the men through hours of torture dreading Jayesh's temper," an official said.

Another youth, who is the cousin of Jayesh's friend, had also become friendly with Reshmi, which further provoked Jayesh. While the FIR registered by the police paints the incident as a honey trap case, the police said that there could be more to the story. Jayesh devised separate plans to hurt both of them. 

On September 1, the 19-year-old youth was allegedly tortured in multiple ways using cycle chain, rope, stick and spray. After dropping him off at an auto stand, he was told to narrate a story to the cops. Jayesh asked him to tell police that he was attacked by his lover's family. Accordingly, Aranmula police registered an FIR and began the probe. The youth's girl friend was questioned and she told police that Reshmi and her husband had attacked the youth. 

Strangely, when Jayesh was summoned to the station, he admitted to the incident. It also became known that Jayesh assaulted his friend in a similar manner on Thiruvonam day. The complainants have told police that while they were being assaulted, Jayesh behaved like a person they had hardly known before. They also spotted replicas of spear and substances used for rituals which led them to suspect that Jayesh practised black magic. The police, however, haven't subscribed to this statement. Onmanorama reached out to the complainants but they refused to speak. 

The cops said that the videos of torture from Reshmi's phone are shocking. Even if it is a honey trap case, the levels of torture are quite disturbing. Jayesh has stored videos on his phone. We plan to engage the cyber forensic wing to retrieve the visual. He has not been cooperative during questioning," a cop said. 

Jayesh and Reshmi lived on the border of Koipuram and Thottapuzhasserry panchayat. The residents of the panchayat said that the couple barely spoke to anyone. Jayesh came across as a withdrawn person and so was Reshmi. She used to draw water from a neighbour's well but seldom spoke to the house owner. The couple has two kids. Before the incident happened, the kids were taken to Reshmi's house at Ayiroor. Sherin, a resident and local body representative, said that Jayesh's parents had died, and he has a brother who used to work in a vegetable shop at Maramon.

Aranmula police have handed over the case to Koipuram police. Jayesh and Reshmi were taken to the house for evidence collection on Sunday.