Muhammadali, a native of Vengara in Malappuram, walked into the local police station on 5 June, and confessed that he had killed a man in November 1986 when he was just 14 years old.
Published Jul 04, 2025 | 10:11 AM ⚊ Updated Jul 04, 2025 | 10:11 AM
Murder. (Representative image)
Synopsis: Haunted by guilt, 54-year-old Muhammadali from Malappuram confessed to a 1986 murder he committed at age 14 in Koodaranji, Kozhikode. He claimed he accidentally killed a man in self-defence. The case, long closed as a natural death, has now been reopened by police, who are searching archives to identify the victim and uncover long-lost details.
In a startling twist to a long-forgotten mystery, a 54-year-old man has confessed to a murder he committed as a teenager nearly four decades ago — a crime that had remained buried in the faded pages of an old newspaper and the unmarked grave of an unnamed man.
Muhammadali, a native of Vengara in Malappuram, walked into the local police station on 5 June, and confessed that he had killed a man in November 1986 when he was just 14 years old.
According to him, wracked by guilt following the tragic death of his eldest son and a serious accident involving his second, Muhammadali told the police that the weight of his past had left him sleepless for years.
According to his statement, the incident took place in Koodaranji, Kozhikode, where Muhammadali was working as a farmhand in the fields of a man named Devasya.
He claimed a man had attempted to molest him near a stream behind the Mission Hospital. In an act of desperate self-defence, the teenager pushed the man into the water and fled the scene. It was only two days later, he said, that he learned the man had drowned.
At the time, the unidentified body of a young man, believed to be around 20 years old and reportedly suffering from epilepsy, was found in a nearby field.
With no relatives to claim the body and no evidence of foul play, police had registered a case of natural death based on local accounts and buried him as an unidentified person.
The only trace left of the incident was a brief newspaper report dated 5 December, 1986.
“Koodaranji: The body of a young man was found in a small field behind the Mission Hospital. He looks to be 20 years old,” the old clipping read.
Muhammadali’s confession has now prompted police to reopen the case.
A team led by Thiruvambadi Circle Inspector K Prajeesh is painstakingly combing through archives, old case files, and records at the RDO office in search of the victim’s identity and any surviving details.
After recording his confession, the police took Muhammadali back to Koodaranji, where he pointed out the exact spot where the incident took place — a quiet patch of land behind what was once the Mission Hospital.
For now, while the alleged killer has finally come forward, the victim’s name, face, and past remain lost to time.
Police took Muhammadali into custody and he has now been remanded.
Thiruvambady Police Station SHO Prajeesh K told South First that they are continuing their efforts to piece together a mystery that, for 39 years, lay buried under silence and forgotten memories.
“The revelation is of challenging one. There is only a statement. We don’t know about the victim’s identity and other whereabouts. We may have to dig up the old records to shed some light into this mystery,” said him.
(Edited by Sumavarsha, with inputs from Dileep V Kumar)
