Palakkad: The Thrithala Police on Friday arrested a youth for allegedly killing two of his friends. The accused is Mustafa of Kundoorkkara, who was arrested from a hideut at Attoor in Thrissur on Friday. The deceased are Parambil Ansar (26) and Ahammed Kabeer (25).

Ansar, who had been attacked, succumbed to his injuries at a private hospital in Pattambi Thursday evening. He had been rushed to the hospital, around 8.30 pm, by a motorist, who found him crawling on the road on the banks of Nila at Kannannur. He was bleeding profusely from his neck.

Before he passed, Ansar told the attending nurse that he was hacked by Mustafa. Based on the information, Mustafa was tracked down late at night using the location of his mobile phone.

Initially, the police thought there was a second accused in the case, Karekkad native Ahammed Kabeer (25), a friend of Mustafa and Ansar. Mustafa tried to mislead the investigators by saying it was Kabeer, who murdered Ansar and fled. But that claim was soon dismissed after Kabeer's body was found floating in the Nila River by Friday afternoon, during a search for the murder weapon.

“Kabeer, Mustafa and Ansar were friends. The trio reached the river for fishing. Prima facie, it seems Mustafa murdered Ansar and Kabeer after a verbal dispute turned violent. Investigation is underway,” said a senior police officer.

Kabeer's sandals were found floating, leading to a search for the body. The cops found a deep wound on Kabeer's throat, possibly made with a knife. The autopsy report is awaited.

On Thursday, the people of Kannannur saw blood on the walkway leading to the river and an abandoned white Maruti Swift car on a bank. The Thrithala Police that arrived at the scene found a sheath of a knife inside the car. It was the same time the police received intimation from a private hospital about the attack on Ansar.

Ansar was a scrap dealer, who later went abroad. He had returned from the UAE two weeks ago. Ansar’s mortal remains were handed over to the relatives after a postmortem.