Real life imitates reel life: Kerala youth killed in 'filmy style'

A.M. Abdussalam, Staff Reporter

Taking a leaf out of the super hit Malayalam movie ‘Dhrishyam,’ four friends brutally murdered a youth and dumped the body in a swamp at Nettoor in Ernakulam, in what police describe as a case of revenge killing.

The body of the victim, identified as Arjun, 20, of Mannnattu House in Kumbalam in Ernakulam district, was recovered eight days after he went missing. After the murder, the accused threw Arjun's phone onto a moving truck and the signal indicated that he was “alive.” “The accused took a leaf out of the movie Drishyam (2015 Mohanlal-starrer) where Mohanlal threw the mobile phone of the victim onto a truck to deceive the investigators," the police said.

The body was found on Wednesday evening. It was tied with stones and lowered into a swamp near the Nettoor railway station.

Police took all the four accused into custody for what appears to be a revenge killing.

Police believe that Arjun's murder was a revenge for a bike accident, which took place in 2018 in Kalamassery.

The youth, who was riding the bike, succumbed to his injuries, while Arjun, who was riding the pillion, had a miraculous escape. But Nipin, the brother of the deceased and one of the four arrested, believed that Arjun caused the accident.

Since then, Nipin was planning to settle the score with Arjun.

Nipin then convinced his friends about the need to finish Arjun.

On July 2, the four summoned Arjun to Nettoor, with the help of a mutual friend saying his bike had no petrol and was stranded midway. The gang subjected Arjun to physical torture, which led to his death. The body, tied to a heavy stone, was buried in a swamp near Nettoor railway station.

A few days after Arjun went missing, his father MS Vidhyan filed a complaint with the Panangad police station. He alleged Arjun's friends Ronny and Nipin were behind his disappearance. He also lamented the lapses on the part of police. "Police never took my complaint seriously initially. Their investigation picked up pace only after I filed a habeas corpus complaint in the court on Wednesday," he said. He said the police had asked him to inquire the case on his own. The police, however, denied the allegations.

Police had summoned Arjun's firends to the station for interrogation and were let off earlier. The body has been taken for post mortem. Thrikkakkara assistant commissioner, Panangad circle inspector, sub inspector and forensic experts reached the spot in the morning.