The police have identified the deceased to be Ismail, 47, a resident of Wandoor in Malappuram. In a startling revelation, it has come to light that there's been another murder associated with this case.
Birju, 53, a resident of Mukkam, was arrested by the Crime Branch on Wednesday for allegedly killing Ismail. The investigation has revealed that Birju allegedly first killed his mother, Jayavalli, with the help of Ismail, for her property.
It was on June 28 and June 30 of 2017 that two severed arms and a skull surfaced on the beach near Chaliyam. Later, on July 6, a human abdomen was recovered along with slaughter waste in Karassery. On the same day, the torso and legs were also recovered from different places near Mukkam.
The DNA test done by the police confirmed that the body parts belonged to a single person, but they were unable to identify the victim immediately.
"The fingerprints were vague, but we recovered them in high definition format.They matched the fingerprints of Ismail, who was already in the crime records as there were four cases against him. After we identified the person, we did an enquiry in his house and neighbourhood. We confirmed his identity with his mother's DNA samples," Tomin J Thachankary, Crime Branch ADGP, told the media in a press meet in Kozhikode on Thursday.
The officer added that in the process of unraveling the mystery, they got a clue from some of Ismail's friends that another murder had taken place.
"Ismail had offered to donate some money to somebody. He had hinted to his friends that that he might get involved in a murder and that this can secure him some money. We also received a clue that he used to go to Mukkam for hunting with a friend. That's when investigators started asking around about unnatural deaths in the area," the ADGP said, while adding that they got suspicious about the death of 70-year-old Jayavalli. After enquiring in her neighbourhood, the police learnt that her only son Birju had sold the property and moved somewhere else.
"Neighbours also expressed doubts on Jayavalli's death as she had told them earlier that she would never kill herself, and that if she dies, it might be a murder. She had some financial business, and would lend money on interest," the officer said.
The police alleged that Birju had spent his share of property and was continuously asking his mother for money.
"Ismail, approached the mother as an agent, borrowed money from her and gave it to Birju. They planned to kill her, and at night, when she was asleep, they choked her with a towel till she fell unconscious. Later, they hanged her to death in a saree from the fan. The next day morning, Birju told neighbours that she had killed herself," the officer said.
Birju had offered money to Ismail for helping him.
A few days after the incident, Birju tried to sell the house and property where they lived. "One day, Ismail came to meet Birju to get money. Birju offered him liquor and food, made him sleep there at night. Ismail was choked to death by Birju using a yellow rope," the officer said.
He added that since Birju was a hunter, he knew to cut the body parts. "He used surgical blades to cut the body parts. These were packed in plastic bags and dumped," he said.
Birju moved to Tamil Nadu after allegedly committing the crimes. The police had nabbed him from Nilgiri district earlier but he escaped while getting into the police vehicle. He was later nabbed from Mukkam.
The ADGP said that along with the scientific evidences, it was social media which helped the officers solve the crime as Birju's picture was circulated on all groups widely.
