A 48-year-old man, Sajeev, was arrested by the police in Kerala’s Ernakulam for allegedly murdering his wife more than a year ago and burying her body in the courtyard of their house. During the year, he made his children believe that their mother eloped with another man, and went on to file a police complaint saying that his wife was missing.
According to reports, Sajeev and Remya (36) had been married and living in Ernakulam’s Edavanakkad. He was suspicious of her and on the day the alleged murder took place in August 2021, Remya had been talking to someone on the phone. Irked by this, Sajeev had grabbed her phone and got into an argument with her. Eventually, he strangulated her to death. The crime does not end here.
Sajeev kept her body inside the house for the whole day and buried her in a pit in their courtyard during the night. When the children enquired about the whereabouts of their mother, Sajeev told them that she ‘eloped’ with someone and it was a shame to their family and asked them not to talk about it to anyone. For a few days, he made their families and neighbours believe that she was attending a course in Bengaluru.
However, in February 2022, Sajeev lodged a complaint with the Njarackal police stating that his wife was missing, after Remya's brother remained unconvinced by his story. Sajeev had justified the delay in reporting by saying that he was ashamed to reveal that his wife had eloped, a police official told The Hindu. “But we weren’t convinced, and our suspicions about him further deepened as we unearthed circumstantial evidence to corroborate them. He was under surveillance for long,” the official added.
According to police, the accused had been under the surveillance of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to investigate the mysterious disappearance of the woman for more than a year and his arrest was made after gathering necessary evidence. The preliminary investigation suggests that Sajeev brutally killed his wife Ramya following an argument over her phone calls.
The remains were found in the courtyard of the house, the police said. The accused was preparing for another marriage after convincing his relatives and locals that his wife had left with someone else.
The SIT closely followed the movements of Sajeev, who had pretended that he didn't know anything. However, he was arrested following a scientific investigation, the police added, and has been charged with murder and destruction of evidence. The police also exhumed Remya’s remains from the pit, which have been sent for a scientific examination.
(With inputs from agencies)