Published Mar 14, 2026 | 4:09 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 14, 2026 | 4:09 PM
Crime Branch nabs Kannur murder accused
Synopsis: The accused had rented a house next to the victim’s residence in 2016 using false identities, posing as clothing merchants. They befriended the woman and on the morning of April 30 invited her to their rented house. There, the victim was fatally stabbed on the neck, stomach and chest. After confirming her death, the accused fled with a gold necklace weighing about two and a half sovereigns, a bracelet worn by the victim, cash and other valuables.
In a major breakthrough, Kerala Crime Branch has arrested two women accused in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, in a brutal murder and robbery that took place in 2016 under the Irikkur police station limits in Kannur.
The arrest was made nearly ten years after the crime following an extensive interstate investigation.
According to the police, the accused had brutally murdered a woman residing at Siddique Nagar on 30 April 2016, before fleeing with her gold ornaments and cash.
The accused had rented a house next to the victim’s residence in 2016 using false identities, posing as clothing merchants. They befriended the woman and on the morning of April 30 invited her to their rented house. There, the victim was fatally stabbed on the neck, stomach and chest. After confirming her death, the accused fled with a gold necklace weighing about two and a half sovereigns, a bracelet worn by the victim, cash and other valuables.
Investigators later found that the accused had committed a similar crime under the Ongole police station in Andhra Pradesh. After securing bail in that case, they absconded and continued moving across various states to evade arrest.
Police said the accused took several precautions to avoid detection. They rented houses using fake documents, sold their mobile phones before the crime and procured SIM cards through a person in Karnataka by promising free clothes. They never stayed in one place permanently.
The case, initially registered at Irikkur police station in 2016, was handed over to the State Crime Branch in 2024 as the accused were suspected to be part of an interstate criminal network.
Fluent in seven languages — Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Gujarati, Hindi and English — the accused managed to remain underground for nearly a decade.
During this period, they lived in various districts of Kerala including Kannur, Kasaragod, Wayanad, Malappuram, Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram.
They also stayed in several states including Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi.
After a highly specialised investigation, a team of the Kannur Crime Branch tracked them down to Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh and arrested them with the assistance of the Madhya Pradesh Police.
The operation was led by Kannur Crime Branch Superintendent of Police Balakrishnan Nair.
The investigation team included DYSP Sudheer Kallan, Kannur Rural DHQ Sub Inspectors Abdul Rahoof, Girish and Sudheesh, and ASI Manjula.
The accused will be produced before the Kannur Judicial First Class Magistrate Court and will be taken into police custody for further investigation.
(With inputs from Dileep V Kumar)
