Muttom (Idukki): Idukki Police has cracked the mysterious death of a 75-year-old woman at her house on March 31.
The nephew of the woman, Sarojini of Oolani at Thottunkara, has been arrested by the police here for allegedly immolating her.
Sunil Kumar (52), son of one of Sarojini’s sisters, has been arrested.
The motive
Sunil, who belongs to Varakil House, Vellathooval, had been staying as a caretaker at Sarojini house for the last six years. “Sarojini, a spinster, owned two acres worth over Rs 6 crore. Sunil killed his aunt to seize her property,” said a police officer.
He had carried out elaborate preparations before the murder, according to the police.
“Sunil had visited the Thodupuzha Taluk Office over the last three years to confirm that the ownership of the land was held by Sarojini as she had told him it would be transferred to his name. However, Sunil was later enraged when he found that the property was divided between Sarojini’s two sisters and their nine children. This led to the crime,” said the officer.
“He had bought kerosene from the ration shop in small quantities several times and around 1.30 am on the fateful day, doused Sarojini with it and sparked a fire. He then took her body to the kitchen,” said the police.
Police expose Sunil's lies
When the police arrived, Sunil told them that Sarojni was killed following an LPG leak in the kitchen. He also claimed that she slept near the kitchen as there was excessive heat in the bedroom. However, these statements made the police suspicious and they found that his version was false. In fact, the bedroom was cooler than the room where Sarojini was found dead. Moreover, Sarojini’s mobile phone, keys and a torch were seen in the bedroom.
Checking with the experts from the Indian Oil Corporation, the police also found that LPG was sparsely consumed in the room. When the police confronted Sunil with all this evidence, he confessed to the murder.
