Justice on hold: Kattappana murders and Ziro deaths hit investigative dead end

Also Read: Kerala Police exhume one body in Kattappana double-murder case

Kattappana double-murder case

In March, Kattappana Police in the Idukki district of the state arrested two youths — Vishnu and Nitheesh — over a theft bid.

While inquiring about their whereabouts, the cops stumbled upon much more curious information, including human sacrifice, black magic or occult practices, and details of a man missing since August 2023. That individual turned out to be Vishnu’s father.

Then police found two women locked inside a room of the rented house where the accused had lived. They turned out to be Vishnu’s mother and sister.

Further investigation unearthed the information that the man said to have been missing was indeed murdered and buried in the hall of the house. Police eventually exhumed the body.

According to the cops, Nitheesh — the first accused — allegedly clobbered Vijayan to death with a hammer in 2023 following a verbal duel.

He and Vishnu — the second accused — and Vishnu’s mother Suma dug a hole in the floor of their rented house at Kattukada and buried the body.

Then came the tip from Vishnu’s sister that she had delivered a baby, born out of a relationship with Nitheesh, a few years ago, and the four-day-old was murdered.

Though police confirmed this, they are yet to exhume the body of the neonatal.

An officer, who is part of the investigation team, told South First: “The investigation is still on. The problem is that this case involves a complex web of narratives. Also, the accused person’s statements raise more questions than answers.”

According to the officer, the details provided by Nitheesh — particularly regarding the recovery of the body — seemed inconsistent.

“There are discrepancies in the information shared by the accused. Our teams are verifying his claims and combing through every detail. We are determined to reach the truth in this sensitive case,” said the officer.

With every lead found to be exhausted and every clue yielding more questions than answers, the quest for justice in the Kattappana double murder case remains a daunting battle.

Also Read: Keralite trio’s death in Arunachal Pradesh puzzles police of 2 states

Ziro triple-death case

In this case, which happened at Arunachal Pradesh’s Ziro on 2 April, three Kerala residents — a man and two women — were found dead in a hotel room.

What piqued the interest of Arunachal Pradesh Police and then Kerala Police was the initial response of the father of one of the deceased persons – Lower Subansiri’s Superintendent of Police (SP) Keni Bagra when he called him to inform about the incident.

The officer found a note in the room, which said “We are happy and we know where we are going” and contained a phone number.

The officer then said that when the number was dialled, a man picked up, and started crying when told of the deaths.

This man — on the other side of the phone — reportedly said two of the deceased were his daughter Devi and son-in-law and the other was a friend as well as a colleague of his daughter, against whom a missing complaint was filed at Vattiyoorkavu Police Station.

The man turned out to be noted wildlife photographer Balan Madhavan, and he told the cops: “I had warned them not to get involved in occultism and supernatural groups.”

Though Kerala Police and Arunachal Pradesh Police told reporters that they got some information that indicated that the three were involved in some occult practices, as was evident from some clues (materials) from the room, they didn’t reveal much.

One of the members of the Kerala Police investigation team told South First: “Not much headway has been made in the case.”

He added: “Our role in the investigation is limited. Arunachal Pradesh Police are probing the case.”

The officer also said that though the post-mortem report pointed to suicide, the daunting task of piecing together the fragmented puzzle of events leading to the tragic demise of the trio was turning out to be challenging.

It has been learnt that a joint team of Kerala Police and Arunachal Pradesh Police was inquiring into the crime.

The former have been entrusted to track down whether a fourth person had persuaded the trio to take the extreme step.

Kerala Police are now in a race against time to solve these perplexing crimes and deliver justice to the victims and their families.

(Edited by Arkadev Ghoshal)