Police recreate Pothundy twin murder scene with accused

Chenthamara, the accused in the double murder of a man and her mother in Pothundy last week, was transferred from judicial custody to police custody on Tuesday to facilitate further investigation.

Chenthamara, who was lodged in Viyyur Central Prison and Correctional Home after being remanded to judicial custody for two weeks, was produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court at Alathur on Tuesday. The court granted police custody for two days following a request from the investigating officers.

As part of the investigation, the police took Chenthamara to Boyan Colony at Pothundy and neighbouring areas to recreate the events surrounding the murders of Sudhakaran and his mother Lakshmi on January 27. During this re-enactment, Chenthamara demonstrated the sequence of events, including the manner in which the victims were attacked and how he allegedly fled the scene.

He showed the police the place where he kept the machete after the murder, and the way he ran after abandoning his mobile sim card and phone. He was taken to a canal nearby where he had spent the whole day after the murder. He reportedly told the police that he escaped from the canal through a culvert and went into the hills on January 27 evening.

A heavy police force was deployed in the area to prevent any potential attacks from the people. The local residents had turned violent when Chenthamara was arrested on January 29. They had blamed the police for ignoring their complaint against Chenthamara as he had threatened Sudhakaran while being on bail for the murder of Sudhakaran’s wife Sajita in 2019. If the police had acted on their complaint, the lives of Sudhakaran and Lakshmi could have been saved, they alleged.

Showing no signs of remorse, Chenthamara appeared calm and cooperative as the police escorted him to the crime scene on Tuesday. The police had deployed a drone and tracker dogs as part of strengthening the security. Investigating officers vowed to prepare a watertight chargesheet, backed by scientific evidence, to ensure the accused receives the maximum penalty for the crime.

Chenthamara was later taken to Alathur Dy.SP office, where he would be questioned further. DySP N. Muraleedharan said that he would be produced before the court before 3 p.m. on Wednesday after completing the investigation formalities.