Kerala Women’s Commission chairperson P. Satheedevi on Saturday visited the house of the man who was bludgeoned to death by a youth and three others just few hours before his daughter’s marriage earlier this week.
Ms. Satheedevi consoled the daughter and wife of the deceased. The commission had earlier suo motu taken a case in this connection.
She said the case had to be investigated from the angle that it was a planned murder carried out by the accused and the family members of co-accused Jishnu. After visiting the house at Vadasserikkonam, Kallambalam, the commission had learnt that a group was actively trying to protect the accused. Steps should be taken to protect the witnesses to the murder – the deceased Raju’s brother-in-law and daughter.
When the main accused Jishnu had expressed his desire to marry Raju’s daughter, the girl and the family made clear their disinterest. Despite this, Jishnu and his family kept on pursuing the girl to accept the proposal. Threatening WhatsApp messages had been sent to the girl’s mother. All this should be investigated as part of the case, she said.
O.S. Ambika, MLA, and district panchayat vice-president A. Shailaja Beegam accompanied Ms. Satheedevi.
The Kallambalam police took the four accused, Jijin, Jishnu, Manu and Shyamkumar, to the deceased’s house for evidence collection. However, it decided against letting them disembark from the police jeep after protests broke out in the area. With several onlookers issuing threats against them, the police decided to suspend the exercise and return to the police station where the accused have been remanded.
