Kannur woman held in Hemachandran kidnapping, murder case
Police arrested a woman in connection with the alleged kidnapping and murder of a man who owed money. His remains were found buried in a remote jungle area.
Police arrested a woman in connection with the alleged kidnapping and murder of a man who owed money. His remains were found buried in a remote jungle area.
Police arrested a woman in connection with the alleged kidnapping and murder of a man who owed money. His remains were found buried in a remote jungle area.
Kalpetta: The Kozhikode Medical College Police have arrested Mekkaraparambath Leeba, 44, a native of Kannur, in connection with the alleged kidnapping and murder of Hemachandran, a native of Sulthan Bathery, Wayanad.
Leeba had been under the police radar since the arrest of Noushad, the key accused in the case. According to the police, Noushad, a native of Sulthan Bathery, and his accomplices kidnapped Hemachandran from the casualty wing premises of Kozhikode Medical College Hospital on March 20, 2024.
Police had failed to trace Leeba earlier as she had switched off the mobile phone used to contact Hemachandran. After months of surveillance, police took her into custody. Investigators suspect that she had been hiding somewhere in Kannur. Another woman from Gudalur in Tamil Nadu is also reportedly under the police scanner.
The remains of Hemachandran’s body were exhumed from a marshy jungle area deep inside the forests near Cherambadi in the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, in July 2025.
The case came to light after police received information from two accused arrested earlier, who allegedly helped Noushad bury Hemachandran’s body in a remote forest area near Cherambadi, Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu.
According to the police, Noushad used two women to lure Hemachandran, following which he was kidnapped in a car and taken to Wayanad along with two accomplices after Hemachandran failed to repay money he had borrowed.
Police suspect that Hemachandran was strangled to death after being confined to a house owned by a friend of Noushad at Kaivettumoola near Sulthan Bathery.
However, in a video message posted on Facebook before surrendering, Noushad claimed that Hemachandran had committed suicide and that they had only buried the body as they feared they would be held responsible since Hemachandran was in their custody.
Hemachandran, a real estate dealer who had resettled in Kozhikode from Wayanad, had a wide network of business connections. Police had earlier arrested alleged accomplices of Noushad- Ajesh B S and Panangad Jyothishkumar, both natives of Wayanad, in connection with the case.