Idukki: A shocking murder angle has emerged in the recent incident in which a few young men had to be hospitalised after they allegedly drank alcohol from a liquor bottle found on the road at Adimali.

After one of them, who was undergoing treatment at the Kottayam Medical College Hospital, passed away, a police probe revealed he was murdered by his nephew by spiking the liquor with pesticide.

Police have taken the accused, Sudheesh (24), into custody for the murder of 40-year-old Padayattil Kunjumon.

Sudheesh, a resident of Adimali, had personal enmity with Manoj. To exact revenge, the accused bought a pint of rum, punctured the cap and injected pesticide into the beverage using a syringe. Sudheesh then sealed the hole with wax.

His uncle Kunjumon and two friends, Anilkumar and Manoj, were hospitalised at the Kottayam Medical College last Sunday after they drank pesticide-laced liquor.

Earlier, Sudheesh had called Manoj and handed him the bottle saying he got it from the road. However, Sudheesh's plan came undone fast when two of Manoj's friends, Anilkumar and Kunjumon, decided to drink from the bottle.

All three were rushed to the Adimali Taluk Hospital and later to the Kottayam Medical College Hospital after they experienced exhaustion and vomiting.

Sudheesh, reportedly, tried to set the bottle on fire to destroy evidence. He confessed to the crime during the interrogation led by the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Idukki.