Death of 26-year-old woman in Kozhikode confirmed as murder; lover arrested

Kozhikode: The death of a 26-year-old woman, initially registered as an unnatural death by the Elathur Police last week, took a dramatic turn after the special investigation team found that she had been brutally murdered by her lover.

The police on Tuesday arrested 36-year-old K Vyshakhan, a native of Thadambattuthazham in the city and a close relative of the woman, in connection with the murder.

The woman was found dead on Saturday. She was found hanging inside an automobile workshop at Morikkara near Malikkadavu, owned by the accused. However, further investigation revealed that the incident was staged to appear as a suicide.

Police said the woman had been lured to the workshop on the pretext of committing suicide together. The accused allegedly decided to kill her after she demanded that he marry her.

Vyshakhan, who is married, had been in a relationship with the woman for nearly 12 years and had sexually abused her several times when she was a minor.

"The accused got married in 2013 and later became close to the victim, a relative of his wife. At the time, she was 14 years old. Within two years, they developed a relationship without his wife's knowledge.  Recently, after the woman learned that Vyshakhan was involved in other relationships, she insisted that he marry her and threatened to commit suicide if he refused," a police official said. 

The official said that Vyshakan decided to kill her, fearing his wife would know about the relationship. "On Saturday, the accused told the woman that he could not live without her and promised that they would commit suicide together. Following this, he brought her to his workshop as part of his earlier plan. The accused and the woman stood on a wooden stool and tightened nooses around their necks. However, the accused suddenly jumped down and removed the wooden stool on which the woman was standing. She died by hanging within minutes," the official added. 

The police said that the accused raped the hanging body of the woman. CCTV visuals of the incident were recovered from the workshop. "It was after the rape that the accused returned to a normal mental stage. He then informed his wife that the woman hanged herself inside the workshop. Later, he took the woman to the hospital along with his wife," said the police.

K R Ranjith, Inspector of Police, Elathur, said that the recovery of CCTV footage helped the police crack the case. "As we suspected mystery behind the incident initially, we managed to seal the entire area of the workshop. So the accused could not destroy the evidence, including visuals. 

Police collected statements from family members, including the accused's wife. She stated that she was unaware of any relationship between her husband and the woman. She said she knew that he was very close to her, but believed it was only brotherly affection.

Vyshakhan was an active social worker in the Thadampazhuthazham area. The victim was the daughter of a retired government officer.