Three men accused of murdering a 30-year-old woman and burying the corpse near Amboori in the district four years ago were found guilty by the Additional District and Sessions Court-VI here on Wednesday.
Akhil R. Nair of Thattamukku, Amboori; his brother Rahul R. Nair, 27, and their friend Adarsh Nair, 23, also from Amboori, were found guilty of strangling Rakhimol, 30, of Poovar, on June 21, 2019, and burying the body behind a house newly constructed by Akhil. The court will pronounce the quantum of sentence on Friday.
Akhil, who was employed as a driver in the Army, and Rakhimol were close and he had promised to marry her. However, he had become close to another woman, hailing from Anthiyoorkonam, and had posted photos of their betrothal on facebook. Rakhimol had reportedly threatened Akhil that she would block the marriage, which led to the murder.
On June 21, 2019, Akhil had lured Rakhimol from her home and taken her to Amboori in his car on the pretext of showing her his new house. Rahul and Adarsh had joined them, and on the way, Akhil strangled the woman with the seat belt. They stripped the corpse and sprinkled it with salt before burying it in a pit behind Akhil’s new house. They also planted several arecanut saplings over the spot.
Afterwards, Akhil left for Ladakh where he was posted. Rahul and Adarsh left for Guruvayur. The police launched an investigation after Rakhimol’s father lodged a complaint saying his daughter was missing. In the course of the investigation, Adarsh was taken into custody and he confessed. Akhil and his brother were arrested shortly afterwards.
Additional District and Sessions Court-VI judge K. Vishnu found the men guilty of murder and destruction of evidence. Special Public Prosecutor P.P. Geetha and Public Prosecutor M. Salahudeen appeared for the prosecution.
