Stephan Kayyar
Daijiworld Media Network - Kasargod

Kasargod, Apr 27: The death of a man under mysterious circumstances a few days ago has now turned out to be murder, and a young relative of the deceased has been arrested in the case.

Ranjith (18) was arrested on Wednesday April 27 for the murder of his uncle Dayanand (49), a resident of P S Colony, Beach road in Nellikunje on April 21.

Dayanand (deceased) and Ranjith (accused)

Ranjith has reportedly admitted that he killed his uncle and that he was drunk at the time. Sources said that Ranjith had a grudge against Dayanand and hence planned to kill him.

At around 11.30 pm on April 21, Dayanand came out of his house to answer nature's call. Ranjith who was lying in wait allegedly lunged at Dayanand from behind and strangled him with a nylon rope. Dayanand fell to the ground and to prevent him from getting up, he tightened the rope until Dayanand died. Ranjith then threw the body into a nearby compost pit and covered it with refuse. He then escaped from the spot.

Four days later, a passerby sensed foul smell emanating in the area and on inspecting, noticed legs of a body jutting out of a pit. He immediately informed the locals and the police. The police who arrived at the spot and investigated grew suspicious that foul play was involved. From the locals, the police learnt that there was enmity between Dayanand and Ranjith.

Post-mortem at Pariyaram Medical College Hospital confirmed that Dayanand had been murdered. Meanwhile the police took four suspects into custody for questioning, among whom was Ranjith. During interrogation, Ranjith is understood to have spilled the beans.

Also, Ranjith reportedly told the police that he committed the murder single-handedly.

Dayanand, who had worked a security guard earlier, was suffering from some mental illness and had undergone treatment at a mental health centre in Kozhikode. He was brought back home just days ago, sources said.

It is learnt that Dayanand used to frequently pick fights with Ranjith, and had even threatened to kill him, sources said. To counter his uncle's threat, Ranjith decided to kill him, police sources said.

Further investigations are on.