CPM panchayat member among 6 arrested for murder of Kottayam man
Six men, including a local CPM representative, were arrested in Kottayam for murder. The victim, Shibukhan, was found dead after an alleged assault following an accusation against him.
Six men, including a local CPM representative, were arrested in Kottayam for murder. The victim, Shibukhan, was found dead after an alleged assault following an accusation against him.
Six men, including a local CPM representative, were arrested in Kottayam for murder. The victim, Shibukhan, was found dead after an alleged assault following an accusation against him.
Kottayam: Six men, including a CPM member of Manimala panchayat, have been arrested in connection with the murder of a 48-year-old man at Karikkattoor in Kottayam.
The victim, Shibukhan, a resident of Erumeli Estate, was found dead in a rubber plantation near Ambattunagar. Police identified the arrested as Joji John alias Joppan (43), a CPM member representing Ward 5 of Manimala panchayat, Nikhil Ayyappan (25), Shaibin Sam (26), Amal Raj (19), Jobin Rajan (28) and Kiran (21). All six have been remanded to judicial custody.
According to police, the incident occurred on the evening of September 15. Shibukhan and his friend Kunjumon were drinking alcohol with Joji John's father at a house near Joji's residence. When Joji returned home, his mother allegedly told him that the two men had assaulted her.
Police said Joji then gathered his friends and attacked Shibukhan and Kunjumon. Shibukhan suffered severe head injuries and died on the spot. Kunjumon fled into the nearby rubber plantation and remained there for two days before returning home.
The body was found on Wednesday morning by Chinnamma, Kunjumon's mother-in-law, who had gone searching for him after he failed to return home. Witnesses, including Chinnamma and Kunjumon's eldest son, had reportedly tried to intervene during the attack.
The accused were residents of the same neighbourhood and known to each other, police said.
A special investigation team led by Erumeli Inspector M R Suresh, under the supervision of Kanjirappally DySP U Sreejith, investigated the case. Manimala SHO Pradeep, Sub-Inspectors Jibeesh Sashikumar and Siji Kuttappan, and Civil Police Officers Bobby Sreejith, Selvaraj, Arun, Aneesh, Rafeeq and Ranjith Nair were part of the team.