Thiruvananthapuram: In a dramatic twist to the murder case of a teenaged girl in Kerala in 2014, the accused was found hanging just a day before the trial in the case was to begin on Tuesday.
The accused in the case, Mundasseril Binuraj, 32 was found hanging on Monday. He is accused of murdering Neetu, 17, the adopted daughter of Babu and Pushpa, a couple from Udayamperoor near Ernakulam.
The couple had adopted Neetu from an orphanage after their own daughter Elizabeth, who was also called Neetu, passed away in an accident. The couple, who work with a school in Poonithura, also have two sons.
According to the prosecution, Neetu had been in love with Binuraj from the time she was studying in Class 10. The family members were opposed to an under-aged girl being in a romantic association with a man much older and from another community.
When Neetu’s family informed about the matter to the police, Binuraj and Neetu said they were in love. The matter was temporarily solved when they were told that they could marry after Neetu turned 18.
Months later, it appeared that Neetu was no longer interested in Binuraj. Later, she was found dead in her home in December 2014. A neighbour who heard Neetu’s cries and rushed for help found her dead in her home. The prosecution argued that Binuraj had murdered her, when her parents were not at home.
