Karamana police in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday apprehended a man, his wife, and his 16-year-old son by a previous marriage for an attempt to rob and murder a 57-year-old woman from Attukal. Karamana police registered cases against Praveen and Manju under section 394 (Voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery) and 97 of the IPC, while the child was produced before a juvenile justice court.
According to a Karamana police official, Praveen (38), a worker originally from Mannar, met the victim, an unnamed married woman, a few months ago and began a relationship with her without revealing the fact that he was married and had a child. She also began confiding in him about her marital problems and her unhappiness with the situation in her home.
After gaining her trust, Praveen sold a 3-cent plot of land belonging to the victim and told her that they would use the money to run away from Thiruvananthapuram and start a new life together. After a portion of the money, amounting to Rs 1.5 lakh, was received from the sale, Praveen convinced the woman to return with him to his hometown of Mannar.
On the night of the incident, which took place on December 31, Praveen’s wife, Manju, and his 16-year-old-son joined them on the train journey to Mannar, pretending to be his sister and nephew. After watching a movie together, Praveen took the victim to a river and showed her a house from the bridge, claiming that it was his house and that they would soon move into it together.
Then Manju, Praveen and his son proceeded to push the victim off the bridge in a bid to run away with the Rs 1.5 lakh, but she managed to swim and grab on to one of the pillars of the bridge, and was rescued by locals who heard her shouting.
The trio were nabbed from Praveen’s house on Wednesday. Praveen and Manju are currently being held in Thiruvananthapuram Central Jail while the 16-year-old child is in a juvenile justice home in Thiruvananthapuram.