Missing woman’s body recovered from waste disposal pit in Kerala’s Malappuram

Malappuram (Kerala) [India], August 23 (ANI): The body of a 35-year-old woman who had gone missing earlier this month was recovered from a waste disposal pit from a compound of the house in Kerala’s Malappuram, a top police official said on Wednesday.

Police said a missing person complaint was reported on August 11, the same day on which the murder took place.

During the inquiry, police said it came to the fore that there was “a big conspiracy hatched to carry out the murder”.

“Her body was found inside the house of a man named Vishnu who was working at a panchayat office in the same building where the victim also worked,” said Sujith Das, Superintendent of Police, Malappuram.

The accused and the victim were known to each other. “The motive behind the murder is not clear,” the Malappuram SP said.

“During our probe, we checked the call details of the suspect. The accused Vishnu was put under scanner after it was revealed that the accused had recently mortgaged some jewellery, the police official said.

The accused was taken into custody and during sustained interrogation, he confessed to the crime, admitting the role of his two brothers and one of their friends in the crime.

“His father knew about the crime. After murdering her, they stole her jewellery. It was all done on the morning of August 11,” Malappuram SP said. 

On the next day (August 12) the accused Vishnu went to a jewellery shop and mortgaged her ornaments and shared the money with other accused persons, as per police.

“They dumped the body in a waste disposal pit in the compound of the house of accused Vishnu at night. To erase the evidence and to prevent a foul smell from emanating, they topped the pit with metals and bricks,” the police official said.

“It looks like a murder with a big conspiracy. We are looking for the motive. We will probe other angles after receiving the post-mortem report,” the official added. 

A case was registered against all the accused under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, police said.