Ever since 35-year-old Sujitha went missing in Malappuram on August 11, her co-worker and Youth Congress mandalam secretary Vishnu had been continuously posting ‘missing’ posters on social media. On Tuesday, August 22, five persons, including Vishnu, were arrested by the Kerala police for allegedly murdering her and burying the body. According to the police, the murder was allegedly committed for financial gains. Sujitha is a Kudumbashree worker in Tuvvur panchayat of Malappuram and also a worker at the Krishi Bhavan. Vishnu is also a worker in the same panchayat.
On August 11, Sujitha left home saying that she was going to the Primary Health Centre (PHC). A missing persons complaint was filed by her family. The police found that her phone was switched off near the Tuvvur panchayat office, and the last call received was from Vishnu, whose house is located near the panchayat office. The police also found that after the call Vishnu made to Sujitha, his phone was not used for a few days.
Malappuram Superintendent of Police (SP) Sujith Das S said that after following multiple leads, they found that Vishnu and others had murdered Sujitha He added that the motive of the crime can be established only after further probing, as it was a murder with criminal conspiracy. The SP said that the accused were planning to hold a protest march to the police station demanding that the case be solved.
“We found that the accused took her ornaments and pawned them in a jewelry shop. Later it was revealed that the accused, his father, two brothers, and a friend were also involved in the crime. They divided the money among themselves,” he said. They allegedly murdered her, took the jewels and buried the body in a waste pit behind their house. “To hide that they dumped her body, they also put hollow bricks and Msand on top of it. It was a Drishyam model murder. They were planning to construct a bathroom over the place,” he said.
Drishyam is a 2013 Malayalam film by director Jeethu Joseph in which the protagonist buries a body in the foundation of an under-construction building. This is not the first murder in Kerala to have been inspired by the film that documented the ‘perfect crime’ and was remade in several languages.
The police found Sujitha’s body during a search conducted on the night of Monday, August 21, and arrested Vishnu, his father Muthu alias Kunjunni, brothers Vysakh and Vivek (Jithu), and his friend Shihan.