Thalayolaparambu: The bones and watch of Kaalayil Mathew (44), who went missing from here eight years ago, have been recovered. Nicy, the daughter of Mathew, confirmed that the watch belonged to her father.
The remains were found after police dug up five feet of earth at a place close to where Chettiamveedu Anish (38), the arrested murder suspect, had initially pointed them to. The bones are believed to be that of Mathew's legs and hands. A total of 32 bone pieces were dug out.
As per the head of Forensic Sciences at Kottayam Medical College, the bones retrieved are that of humans. Police have collected blood samples of Mathew's relatives in order to perform DNA tests.
A three-storey building had come up at the place where Anish initially led the police to. Even though the inside of the building was dug out, no evidence could be collected. After the police suspected that Anish was trying to mislead them, they changed the style of questioning and after 72 hours of grilling, Anish came out with the truth. He was then taken to the building where he dug out some earth for the police to continue digging.
It is believed that the murder of Mathew happened in 2008. Anish confessed that he had visited the site two years later and retrieved parts of the body and dumped them in the Muvattupuzha River.
The watch that was retrieved at the site is expected to provide clinching evidence to the police. The date of the automatic watch is stuck between 25 and 26. The police presume that the watch would have stopped functioning soon after Mathew's death, which is believed to have happened on that day at about 10 pm.