Thodupuzha murders take spooky turn: Police probe black magic angle

Krishnankutty took as much as Rs 50,000 for the rituals, sources said.

Thodupuzha: The murders at Mundanmudi, Thodupuzha, took a spooky turn on Thursday after the police found a black magic link to the head of the family, Kanat Krishnankutty. The relatives of the victims and local people have told the police that Krishnankutty was involved in black magic.

The bodies of Kanat Krishnankutty, wife Suseela and children Arsha, a college student, and Adarsh, a plus two student, were found piled up on Wednesday. Investigators suspect that someone known to the family had committed the murders.

Krishnankutty took as much as Rs 50,000 for the rituals, sources said. The police are probing if anyone who gave money for the rituals and did not get the desired results killed the family. He also conducted rituals at other places.

According to Krishnankutty’s brother Yajneswaran, people used to visit the house even from faraway places to get black magic rituals done. "But I had no ties with my brother for the past 10 years. He did not even take part in the funeral when our mother died," Yajneswaran added.

The police are also reportedly questioning the victim's relatives after it emerged there were property disputes.

Police rule out robbery bid?

The police suspect that more than one person was involved in the crime. Krishnankutty and his son were well-built, making it near impossible for one person alone to carry out the crime. The police are also examining the possibility of robbers carrying out the murder. However, in that case, the bodies would not have been buried. There were also no signs of a break-in.

It is suspected that the crime was committed on Sunday night. The police squad and forensic experts could not gather much evidence as it had rained heavily in the subsequent days.

All the windows and ventilators of the house were tightly sealed and the family hardly interacted with their neighbours.

Krishnankutty's wife and daughter used to fetch milk from a neighbouring house. After no one turned up for milk for two days, the neighbours grew suspicious. The police soon arrived and found the bodies buried in the house plot.

Krishnan’s face was disfigured and there were injuries on son Adarsh's head too. While Arsha had sustained stab injuries on the back, Susheela’s chest and abdomen had stab marks.