Sreekariyam murder: 17-year-old plotted to kill Abhiram’s friend, hoped to exploit juvenile status

Thiruvananthapuram: A murder plot involving a former lover, a fake romantic overture and a cunningly chosen bait led to the killing of 17-year-old Abhiram at Pangappara in Sreekariyam, police investigations have revealed.

The prime accused, also 17, had allegedly targeted the current boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend. However, instead of going after the boy directly, he used Abhiram, a close friend of his intended target, to lure him to an isolated spot. The accused also allegedly enlisted Umar, a criminal on the police's KAAPA list, to execute the plan.

According to the police, the girl had ended her relationship with the prime accused and recently started dating a friend of Abhiram. Convinced that the new relationship was responsible for their breakup, the accused developed a deep grudge against the boy and began plotting to harm him.

He shared his intentions with Anantha, his current girlfriend. Her mobile phone was allegedly in his possession for a few days before the murder. Using her Instagram account, he repeatedly messaged Abhiram and established contact with him. Posing as Anantha and pretending to be romantically interested, he asked Abhiram to meet him alone at an isolated plot in Pangappara on Sunday afternoon.

Abhiram travelled by bus and reached the spot around 3 pm. The 17-year-old and Umar were waiting there. Realising that he had walked into a trap, Abhiram tried to escape.

The accused allegedly forced him to call his close friend, the intended target of the murder plot, and bring him to the location. Abhiram called the friend twice, but the latter refused to come, asking them to meet him elsewhere instead. When Abhiram refused to make another attempt and tried to leave, the accused attacked him. During the ensuing struggle, the attackers allegedly strangled him using their hands and a belt.

The police believe the murder took place between 6 pm and 8 pm on Sunday. After confirming his death, the accused allegedly planned to put the body in a sack and dump it in a lake. They brought a sack and placed the body inside, but heavy rain disrupted their plan. They eventually abandoned the body at the spot, destroyed Abhiram's phone and fled.

Plan to exploit juvenile status
The police suspect that the accused had also planned to exploit the prime accused's juvenile status to secure a lighter punishment. The three allegedly agreed that the 17-year-old would take sole responsibility for the murder if they were caught, believing that he would face a lesser sentence because he was a minor.

The prime accused initially told the police that he had committed the murder alone and that Umar had arrived at the spot only later. Abhiram, along with the prime accused and the second accused all belonged to the same locality, with their houses situated close to one another. The area where the body was found is isolated and reportedly frequented by anti-social elements and drug users.

Father recalls desperate search for son
Abhiram's father, Madhu Kumar, said he became anxious when his son failed to return home despite promising to reach within 10 minutes.

Abhiram had left home around 4 pm on Sunday, saying he was going to meet a friend. During a phone call later, he sounded as though he was running but assured his father that he would be home in 10 minutes.

When Madhu Kumar returned home around 8.30 pm, his son had still not arrived. He called him nearly 20 times but received no response. He went to the Sreekariyam police station around 9 pm and lodged a complaint.

The police took one of Abhiram's friends into custody but later released him, asking him to report to the station at 10 am the following day.

"Perhaps, if they had questioned him properly, my son's body would not have been lying abandoned and cold in the bushes that night," Madhu Kumar said, struggling to hold back tears.

Abhiram's mother, Dharmaja, who was in the Gulf, arrived in Keralam early on Tuesday after learning about his death. She collapsed soon after reaching home and was taken to hospital.

Abhiram's mother and sister are abroad, while his father and grandmother live at their rented house in Bhagat Singh Nagar, Pangappara. His sister is expected to arrive from abroad today. The body, kept at the Medical College Hospital after the postmortem, is scheduled to be brought home on Wednesday.