After a 64-year-old Kollam native was found murdered and dumped at a roadside in Kochi’s Brahmapuram area, the police have now arrested 5 persons in connection with the case, some of whom are his kin. It has also been revealed that the conspiracy to murder the deceased, identified as Divakaran Nair, was hatched by his own relatives. The latest accused to be arrested was Krishnanunni, Divakaran’s brother Madhusudhan’s son, after he was found to have conspired to murder his uncle. He was arrested on November 16.
Earlier, the police arrested four persons, including Anil Kumar (45), Krishnanunni’s father-in-law, his friend CS Rajesh (37), Sanjay (23) and a woman friend of Anil named Shaneefa (55), the Sub Inspector of the Infopark police station confirmed with TNM. The motive behind the murder was reportedly a property dispute between Divakaran and his brother Madhusudhanan Nair, who are both Kollam natives. The duo also has a legal case on the property, which has stretched on for 15 years.
According to the police, after Divakaran refused to let Madhusudhanan divide up and sell his share of the property, Krishnanunni’s father-in-law, Anil Kumar, decided to intervene. Anil allegedly arranged for a gang of goons, who ended up at the site of the property and intervened. It was following this that a conspiracy to kill Divakaran was allegedly hatched. The prime accused in the case is Anil Kumar. However, Krishnanunni was booked for his role in conspiring to murder the deceased.
According to the police, Divakaran was lured to Kochi by the accused men, with the help of Shaneefa. On October 25, the 64-year-old’s body was found dumped at a deserted KSEB site on the Karimukal - Infopark road in Kochi. Police suspect that the deceased had reached the Thrikakkara temple by auto in the evening, from where he was abducted by the group in a car, and later murdered and dumped on the road.
Speaking to TNM, the police officers at Info Park station said, “Cases have been registered under several sections including section 302 (Murder) and section 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. The accused in their statement added that it was not their intent to kill the deceased.”