The Kerala police on Tuesday exhumed body parts believed to belong to a woman, who went missing 15 years ago, from the septic tank of her husband’s home at Eramathoor near Mannar in the Alappuzha district. Police said that Kala was allegedly killed by her husband Anil and his associates.
Kala went missing from Mannar in 2009. Despite her husband Anil filing a missing persons report, the initial investigation yielded no leads. Kala’s parents had already passed away, and her two brothers did not pursue the matter further. Anil remarried and now has children from both marriages. Currently employed as a construction contractor, Anil left for Israel two months ago.
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The Ambalappuzha police recently received an anonymous letter regarding the case. This letter reportedly originated from an incident in which one of the involved individuals unintentionally revealed details during a heated argument with his wife, including threats of inflicting a similar fate as the deceased woman.
“The letter claimed that Kala was strangled to death by her husband and relatives, and buried in the septic tank in his house. We started a covert investigation and got some clues,” District Police Chief Chaithra Theresa John said.
“Later, we took five persons into custody and they confessed to the crime. They confirmed the claim in the letter that Kala’s body was dumped in the septic tank,” the district police chief said. The exhumed body parts will now be sent for forensic examination and DNA test, and only after that it could be ascertained whether they were of Kala, the District Police Chief further said.
Narrating the background of the crime, the District Police chief (DPC) said that Anil, who was engaged in construction work, and Kala, belonging to different castes, fell in love and married against the wishes of Anil’s family. After the marriage, she lived in the house of one of Anil’s relatives. After one year, she gave birth to a son. Later, Anil went to Angola for a job.
After being alerted by relatives that Kala was having an affair with a youth, Anil flew back. On the pretext of sorting out the issue through discussion, he took her to Kuttanad, and strangled her with the help of his associates inside a vehicle, the DPC said.
Anil concocted a story that Kala eloped with her lover, abandoning her son. Everyone, including Kala’s relatives, believed the story. Anil married again and the couple has two children. He reconstructed the old house but did not destroy the old septic tank. He went to Israel for work a few months ago. After receiving the anonymous letter, the police reopened the file and took some relatives of Anil into custody, which led to the arrest of others.
Anil’s relative Soman is in police custody along with Suresh, Pramod, Santhosh, and Jinu Rajan. Steps have been initiated to bring Anil back from Israel, the DPC said.
The Kerala police on Tuesday exhumed body parts believed to belong to a woman, who went missing 15 years ago, from the septic tank of her husband’s home at Eramathoor near Mannar in the Alappuzha district. Police said that Kala was allegedly killed by her husband Anil and his associates.