Nagaroor police probing the death of a father and son, who were found dead near a canal on Tuesday, have arraigned the land owner and the lessee as accused in the case. They are identified as Venugopal Potty (74), the owner of the land where the bodies were found and Gopalan (78), who had leased out the land.

The father-son duo were found dead in a tapioca field near the Kilimanoor Block Office, in Chenkikunnu Jn, Nagaroor, on Tuesday. The deceased have been identified as Kochunni (58) and Akhil (31), both from Konath Veedu, Kuriyedithkonam, Chemmarathmukk.

The Nagaroor Police registered a case against the accused under section 105, culpable homicide not amounting to murder; section 238(B), causing disappearance of evidence; and section 3(5), acts done in furtherance of common intention, of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Jayachandran, the Nagaroor Panchayat President, said that the police and forensic officials have taken note of burn marks on their bodies, pointing to the possibility of electrocution. However, the exact cause is yet to be confirmed. He said that while a wire trap was set up in the field to deter wild boars, there was no evidence that it was live. 

However, the Nagaroor police said that the accused had used the fencing without obtaining the necessary permits.

Following the incident, the Attingal Executive Division of KSEB had inspected the plot. There, they found a plug point which could have been used to supply electricity to the wire trap. However, Deepa R, the Executive Engineer at the Attingal Division, says that the trap was disconnected from the outlet at the time of the inspection.

"There is a possibility that the plugpoint was used to provide current to the wiretrap. However, since it was disconnected, we can't say for sure. Which is why the post-mortem report is awaited to ascertain the cause of death," she said. 

The Thiruvananthapuram District Electrical Inspectorate will also investigate the matter and submit a report. "After consulting with my team, we shall conduct the inspection and take the statements of those associated with the incident. We will collect all the details, but we can only furnish the report after the post-mortem is filed," said Sreekala, the Deputy Chief Inspector who will lead the investigation.