The Kerala Police on Monday, January 6, found a human skeleton from a refrigerator inside an uninhabited house in Ernakulam’s Chottanikkara. The house had remained locked up for the past 20 years, and the police came across the skeleton, packed in three plastic bags, during a search after residents complained of antisocial activities on the premises.
The house, nearly 4 km away from the famous Chottanikkara Bhagavathy temple, stands on a 14-acre plot of land owned by Dr Philip John, a native of Ernakulam district. Although the doors were locked, the police were able to unlock them since they were worn out by time. According to the police, the skeleton is several years old, though its exact age has not yet been determined. It is believed to have been placed in the refrigerator while the house was previously inhabited.
Philip came to the site during the inquest and told the media he didn’t know about this. “I came here last June, but didn’t enter the house. The skeleton looks precisely arranged, just how students would do in an anatomy lab,” he said.
The police said that it is difficult to determine if this is a case of murder at the moment and that details will be shared once the investigation progresses.