The Thiruvananthapuram police have booked a group of 5 men for murdering a Kaatakada resident with an earthmover bucket, allegedly after the deceased stopped the men from taking soil from his property.

The incident took place at 1 am on Thursday, when the deceased Sangeeth stepped out of his house to prevent the men from digging earth from his land. His wife too was present during the altercation, Kaatakada Circle Inspector tells TNM.

Sangeeth suffered head and chest injuries after the accused who were operating the earthmover hit him with its bucket. He passed away after being taken to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College hospital, where his post mortem was performed a day later.

On Friday, the police arrested 29-year-old Bijin, also from Kaatakada. A case has also been registered against 4 other men for murder (section 302 of the IPC). Two of them have been identified as Saju and Uthaman, both living in Kaatakada.

“According to the accused person’s statements, Sangeeth had earlier allowed the men to excavate earth from his property and had granted his consent on Thursday as well. However, Sangeeth’s family disagrees with this, stating that they had not given permission to the men to remove soil on Thursday,” CI of Kaatakada tells TNM.

According to the police, Bijin (29) had been driving the earthmover when the murder took place. Bijin, along with Saju, had earlier too excavated earth from Sangeeth’s land.

“We are yet to identify the two other men who were involved in the murder on Thursday,” the CI added. 

Meanwhile, opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala has demanded a thoough probe into the incident, after alleging that the police had delayed arriving at the spot despite being informed that the gang of men were excavating earth from Sangeeth's house without consent. He alleged that only police officers who pandered to the whims and fancies of the current CPI(M) dispensation were appointed in important positions and that this was destorying the moral of the police force.

The opposition leader also called for strict action against police officers who are responsible for the delay in stopping the gang of men in Sangeeth's house.