Thiruvananthapuram: As life begins to limp back in Kerala with unrestricted permission for inter-district travel and reopening of liquor sales, there has been a series of crimes, raising a new cause for concern.
As in other states in India, the lockdown had significantly brought down the number of crimes in Kerala, too, but the slow return to normalcy also seems to have triggered criminal activity in the state.
Some of the crimes committed in the state over the weekend include a son killing his mother in Thrikodithanam near Changanacherry in Kottayam district, a man killing his father at Tirur in the north of the state, and a drunken brawl leading to the death of a youth in Karamana in the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram.
Besides these, a gruesome murder was reported from Kottayam where a 55-year-old woman was found dead and her 60-year-old husband lying unconscious near her at their home on Monday. Their car was missing.
There are allegations that the opening of liquor shops in the last week of May has led to the spurt in crimes. Congress leader and former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president, V.M. Sudheeran had been one of the first to call for a shutdown of liquor shops when the state decided to implement a lockdown ahead of the federal government deciding to do so.
In the murder at Thrikodithanam, Nidhin Babu, 27 was accused of murdering his mother, Kanyakonil Kunjannamma, 55 with a kitchen knife after they had a heated argument on Saturday night. Nidhin had been working in Sharjah and had returned in February this year. Kunjannamma had been living separated from her husband. She has another son working abroad.
Photos on social media
After murdering his mother, Nidhin took photos of the scene and posted it in his family social media group, and also called up neighbours to inform them about the crime. The neighbours informed the police who reached the house and took Nidhin into custody.
At Tirur, Abubaker Siddique is accused of having pushed his father Mohammed Haji, into the courtyard, leading to Haji’s death. Media reports said the incident happened when Haji tried to intervene in a drunken brawl between Siddique and his brother Mujib.
At Karamana, Shyam Sasi, 36 is believed to have lost his life in a drunken brawl with his friend Sathi Kumar, 45. The two were sharing a room and a fight broke out between the two while they were having a drink.
In Kottayam, unidentified assailants brutally attacked Mohammed Saliq, 60 and his wife Sheeba, 55. Both sustained severe head injuries and Sheeba was found dead with wires tied around her body and apparently having been electrocuted. Saliq was found unconscious and has been moved to hospital for treatment. The assailants had also left the nozzle of the gas cylinder in the house open.
The murder came to light when people came looking for a rented accommodation. They alerted the neighbours about a possible gas leak. Around that time, Saliq’s daughter who is based abroad also called the neighbours saying her parents were not answering her call.
Police suspect it to be a murder caused during a robbery. The investigation team is also looking for the car of the couple that has gone missing after the incident.
