Idukki (Kerala), Mar 10 (PTI) The probe into a theft case has led the Kerala Police to two hitherto undiscovered murders, including that of a toddler, police here said on Sunday.
The authorities on Sunday exhumed one of the bodies from a room of a rented house at Kattappana near here in connection with the incident.
The cops stumbled upon the murders while investigating a routine case of theft at a local store in which they had arrested Ernakulam residents Nitheesh (31) and Idukki Vishnu (27) on March 2.
As part of the investigation, police went to Vishnu’s house, where they came across details about the murders of his father Vijayan and of his newborn nephew, officials said.
Police today exhumed the body of Vijayan and have identified the location of the child’s body.
The exhumed body is estimated to have been buried about eight months ago and is in an advanced stage of decomposition, a senior police official told PTI, adding, “Forensic examination will be done. We have identified the location of the child’s body as per the statement of the accused. We will inspect the location tomorrow.” Police said they that realised things were not adding up when the family members revealed that Vijayan has been missing for the past few months.
According to the FIR registered yesterday by the cops, Nitheesh allegedly bludgeoned Vijayan to death due to a past enmity. Later, Vishnu and his mother Suma allegedly helped him bury Vijayan’s body in a room inside the house.
“We suspect that this happened in August 2023,” police said.
Police also discovered that a child was born to Vishnu’s sister and Nitheesh. In 2016, Vishnu, Vijayan and Nitheesh had allegedly killed the baby and buried the body in a cattle shed of another rented house, the police said.
The police have now registered an FIR in this case as well.
Vishnu is currently under treatment after suffering an injury during the attempted theft and is in judicial custody. PTI RRT RRT ANE
