Kunnamkulam murder: Victim identified as Tamil Nadu native
The crime, allegedly stemming from a refused sexual advance, led to the victim being stabbed, beaten, and set ablaze in a rented room.
The crime, allegedly stemming from a refused sexual advance, led to the victim being stabbed, beaten, and set ablaze in a rented room.
The crime, allegedly stemming from a refused sexual advance, led to the victim being stabbed, beaten, and set ablaze in a rented room.
Thrissur: Police have identified the man who was found murdered and set ablaze inside a rented quarters at Chovannur in Kunnamkulam. The victim is suspected to be Shiva (34), a native of Tamil Nadu who had been living at Perumpilavu Althara. DNA tests will be conducted to confirm the identity.
The charred body was discovered on Saturday evening in a building housing migrant workers. The police said that the victim was stabbed to death before being burned. Police later identified Sunny (61), of Cheruvathoor, as the prime suspect in the crime.
Sunny, according to police, is a homosexual, and the murder stemmed from the victim’s refusal to engage in sexual activity. Sunny told police that he did not know the youth’s name or any other personal details — they had met earlier that evening near the Kunnamkulam beverages outlet.
Sunny reportedly invited the youth to his room, promising more liquor. They took a bus to Chovannur and bought groceries to cook food. While the youth was chopping onions, Sunny allegedly made sexual advances. When the youth resisted, a fight broke out, during which Sunny grabbed a knife from him and stabbed him several times.
Police said Sunny then attacked the youth’s head, face, and neck with a frying pan to ensure he was dead. He spent the night in the room with the body. The next morning, he set fire to the victim’s belongings and other items in the room, locked it from outside, and left for Wadakkanchery and then Thrissur.
Residents had noticed smoke coming from the quarters around 5.30 pm and alerted the police. When the room was opened, a charred body was found inside.
Sunny was arrested at the Shaktan bus stand.
City Police Commissioner Nakul Rajendra Deshmukh visited the scene and reviewed the investigation. ACP CR Santhosh and Kunnamkulam SHO KG Jayapradeep led the inquest and post-mortem procedures. The body is kept at the Thrissur Medical College mortuary.
Police said that the victim was Shiva after his son identified him from a photograph. However, the final confirmation will come only after the DNA test results.
Sunny, who works as a security staff at a textile shop in Thrissur, is an accused in two murder cases. He has already served a jail term in one of them. The victims in his previous crimes were reportedly a migrant worker and a relative.