Snakebite murder: Sooraj sold Uthra’s gold ornaments, splurged on lavish living

Kottarakkara: The Keralite man, accused in the snakebite murder case, has confessed that he had sold some of his wife Uthra's gold ornaments.

The accused, Sooraj, told the police that he had sold 15 sovereigns of gold, and splurged the money on his lavish living and liquor. He had sold the gold at a jewellery shop at Adoor on multiple instances. The Crime Branch has confirmed this.

He also told the investigative team that he used to have liquor worth Rs 2,000 from the bar in Adoor every week.

A native of Anchal in Kollam, 25-year-old Uthra had died of snakebite on May 7. She was first bitten by a snake on March 2 and suffered another snakebite in May. She did not survive the second attack. Her husband Sooraj had reportedly confessed to the murder.

Uthra was given 100 sovereigns of gold

Uthra's family had given her nearly 100 sovereigns of gold, including 96 sovereigns for the wedding. Uthra's parents had pawned 21 sovereigns of gold and gave the money to her father-in-law to buy an autorickshaw.

As he feared that the cops would close in on him soon, Sooraj had given some of the remaining gold ornaments to his father and asked these to be handed over to his paternal aunt. However, she refused to take responsibility and returned the ornaments the next day itself. Then they buried the gold in two covers in the rubber plantation. Around 38.5 gold sovereigns were recovered from the plantation by the police.

Ten sovereigns of gold were found from the bank locker and six sovereigns were pledged at the same bank. Some gold was pawned at a private financial firm. About 3.5 sovereigns of Uthra’s gold jewellery were returned to the police by the family.

With this, the police have retrieved most of the gold ornaments of Uthra.

‘It was a viper’

The police had also interrogated Sooraj in front of his family members the other day. Sooraj then explained as to how he used the snake to commit the crime.

Sooraj also confessed that the snake found on the staircase of his house at Adoor on February 29 was a viper. Sooraj had initially said that it was a rat snake. However, he revealed it was a viper after continuous interrogation.

Uthra had screamed out on seeing the snake on the staircase. Sooraj then caught the snake, and hid it in a sack in a shed outside the house.

The probe team has concluded that this same snake was used to carry out the first attack on Uthra on March 2. Uthra was bitten by the viper at the bedroom on the first floor of the house. After the snake bit Uthra, Sooraj caught the viper and released it in the grounds, he had told the officers.

Crime scene recreated

Apart from Sooraj's parents, the police have also recorded the statement of his paternal aunt and three other close relatives.

His mother and sister were grilled for 17.5 hours in the Crime Branch office and then later at their home. The police found discrepancies in the relatives’ statements on the first attack on Uthra. The cops conducted checks at the Adoor house to clear this. If the discrepancies remain, the family members are likely to be questioned again.

Sooraj was taken for evidence gathering to his house at Adoor on Saturday. The crime scene was recreated in his presence.

Currently, only Sooraj, his father Surendran and snake-catcher Suresh have been named as accused in the case. The police team is probing conspiracy and charges of destruction of evidence.

Sooraj will be presented in court on Monday, after 14 days in police custody.

Meanwhile, the forest department will approach the court on Monday, seeking the custody of Sooraj and Suresh, who had provided the snakes. The forest department had filed a case against them as per the Wildlife Protection Act.