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The Kerala Crime Branch has arrested a man in connection with the disappearance and death of a 17-year-old Dalit girl from Kasaragod who went missing in 2010 while pursuing a teachers training course in Kanhangad.
Reshma, a native of Balamthode, had moved to Kanhangad to join the course. She was last seen on June 6, 2010, just six days before her 18th birthday. A missing person’s complaint was filed by her father on January 19, 2011, at the Ambalathara Police Station.
After remaining unresolved for over a decade, the case was reopened in 2021 after Reshma’s family approached the Kerala High Court seeking a detailed reinvestigation. In January 2025, the court handed the case over to the State Crime Branch. A 13-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by Crime Branch Inspector General P Prakash and Kannur & Kasaragod range Superintendent of Police P Prejish Thottathil, has now arrested Baiju Paulose, a native of Wayanad, in connection with the case.
Baiju, who was 37 at the time of Reshma’s disappearance, was reportedly in a relationship with her and had concealed the fact that he was already married with two children. According to the Crime Branch, the two lived together in a rented house in Madiyan, Kanhangad, with Baiju posing as Reshma’s brother. Investigators believe the relationship became strained after Reshma learned the truth about his marital status and began pressuring him for marriage.
Speaking to the media, SP Prejish said, “According to Baiju’s statement, he disposed of Reshma’s body in a marshy area. During the investigation, we recovered unidentified body parts consistent with the missing person’s profile. We also found two anklets that Reshma’s family identified as hers.”
“According to his version, he found her dead that day and disposed of her body in the marshland,” SP Prejish added.
The officer added that Baiju made elaborate efforts to cover his tracks after Reshma’s disappearance. “He travelled to Ernakulam with her mobile phone. From there, using a Chinese voice-changing app that could mimic a woman’s voice, he called her father’s friend and falsely claimed that Reshma had secured a job and would be unreachable for two months.”
Drawing a parallel with a popular Malayalam film, he remarked, “Although this incident happened before the release of the movie Drishyam, the planning and deception involved are eerily similar.”
IG P Prakash, who heads the Kerala State Crime Branch, explained how the case gained momentum after years of stagnation. “In January this year, the High Court transferred the case to the State Crime Branch. Our team has been working on it for the past four months. Baiju Paulose had been a suspect earlier, but due to the absence of a body and lack of concrete evidence no action could be taken at the time. Now, with the recovery of body parts and new evidence, we’ve been able to move forward.”
He confirmed that the victim and the accused had known each other for years. “Reshma and Baiju knew each other from her school days, when they were part of a music troupe together. She died on the same day she went missing. The exact cause of death is still under investigation.”
Sharing further details of the relationship, SP Prejish said, “Reshma had moved in with Baiju while attending her teachers training course in Kanhangad. At times, even her mother assisted her in staying with him. By the time Reshma went missing on June 6, 2010, the relationship had become strained, as she began pressuring Baiju for marriage. However, Baiju was already married and had two children.”
Baiju has been booked under IPC Sections 366 (kidnapping a woman to compel her to illicit intercourse) and 376 (rape), both punishable by 10 years to life imprisonment. The police have also invoked Section 3(2)(v) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, which applies when a crime against a Dalit is committed by someone from a non-SC/ST community, carrying a punishment of life imprisonment and fine.
The Crime Branch has not pressed murder charges at this stage, as the exact circumstances surrounding Reshma’s death are still under investigation.