The police on Friday arrested three persons in connection with the murder of a 54-year-old man at Mavady, near Nedumkandam, in Idukki.
According to the police, the accused persons are Mavady residents Saji John (50) and Binu Baby alias Kodakkampi (40), and Muniyara resident Vineesh Manoharan (38).
Plackal Sunny Thomas was found shot dead in his bedroom with a gunshot on his face on Tuesday night. His wife found him dead at around 11.30 p.m. The police found five more bullet marks on the door of the house and initially suspected that poaching groups had accidentally shot the man while attempting to hunt a wild animal.
Police said a detailed probe by a 50-member team led by Kattappana Deputy Superintendent of Police (DYSP) V.A. Nihad Mon revealed that it was a planned murder.
The Excise department officials arrested one of the accused, Binu Baby, last March in an Abkari case for manufacturing spirit on direction from John. The accused suspected that Sunny had informed the Excise department of the spirit-making. Following this, they decided to kill Sunny with a country gun.
On Tuesday night, the three accused reached a nearby home with country guns. John shot Sunny through a hole on the kitchen door. Later, they moved to Perinjankutty in Adimali where they took up work as daily wage workers. The police took custody of the accused persons on Thursday evening.
Police said that Saji John was also accused in an earlier case for the murder of Titus alias Bheekaran Thoma. He had allegedly killed Titus over a dispute on Ganja farming.
