A team from the Ernakulam Town South police will visit Goa yet again to wrap up collection of evidence in connection with the alleged murder of a man from Kochi in Goa two years ago, which came to light only last month.
Jeff John Lewis, 27, of Perumannur, Thevara, Kochi, was allegedly murdered within the limits of the Anjuna police station in North Goa. A team led by South inspector M.S. Faisal that had visited Goa last month had found that the local police had registered a case of unnatural death on November 27, 2021 which was hardly a fortnight since the victim had gone missing.
“We are now looking to collect the statement of the doctor who conducted the post-mortem of the victim and wrap up collection of evidence. The local police there had done the DNA profiling of the victim before the body was disposed of. We are now awaiting a report from the Thiruvananthapuram forensic lab to confirm his identity by matching his DNA samples with those of his mother and brother. We have moved the court to speed up the process,” said Mr. Faisal.
Meanwhile, the police team probing the case nabbed the last of the five-member gang suspected to be involved in the alleged murder from Palakkad. The arrested is Kesavan, 21, of Vellimunda in Wayanad. A ragpicker, he was on the run since the police cast a net for him. He was allegedly directly involved in the murder.
The police had already arrested the other four - Anil Chacko, 28, of Kottayam, his relative Stephin Thomas, 24, T.V. Vishnu, 25, of Wayanad, and Muthappan, 27, of Wayanad.
The victim used to go for days-long trips before he returned. However, that was not the case when he had gone missing in November 2021. He was allegedly beaten up and stabbed with a knife by the accused shortly thereafter. That he was murdered came to light only with the arrest of the first three accused in mid-September.
The police suspect that a dispute over drugs between the victim and the first accused led to the murder. The police team is now looking to tie up the loose ends before preparing the chargesheet.
