Thiruvananthapuram: Sunil Kumar, who surrendered in connection with the murder of quarry owner Deepu Soman in Kaliyakkavilai, has told the police that he did not know the prime accused Ambili had planned to kill the businessman when he demanded a surgical blade from his shop.

Sunil went into hiding after the Tamil Nadu police summoned him for questioning following the arrest of Ambili. He decided to surrender after his friend Pradeep was arrested in the case.

The police had found that Sunil, who owns medical shops in Parassala and Neyyattinkara, provided the surgical blade which Ambili used to slit Deepu’s throat. According to Sunil, Ambili reached his shop in Parassala on June 24 and asked for a surgical blade.

However, he said he was not aware of Ambili's intention. Then both of them drove to Kaliyakkavilai in Sunil's car. They bought a new pair of dresses and brought it to Ambili's house. On their way back to Neyyattinkara, Ambili disclosed his idea to murder Deepu later that night during a drinking session.

Ambili asked Sunil to take him to Kaliyakkavilai and drop him home after he was done with the murder. When Sunil refused, Ambili threatened to kill his son, the former told the police. Sunil said he contacted a friend who is in the police force on the phone. He advised Sunil to drive to the nearest police station, but he couldn't do that.

Pradeep Chandran, another accused, joined Sunil and Ambili from Neyyattinkara. Ambili was dropped at the Amaravila bus stop after promising that Sunil and Pradeep would wait for him at Kaliyakkavilai. Sunil said he continued drinking with Pradeep and later switched off his phone and went home. He found out about Deepu's death only the next day, he told the police. Sunil also said Ambili did not disclose the victim's identity.

Police believe Ambili remained in Kaliyakkavilai for an hour after the murder waiting for Sunil, who never turned up. They believe the motive behind the murder must have been to steal Rs 10 lakh from Deepu's car.

Tamil Nadu police found Deepu with his throat slit in the driver’s seat of a car in Kaliyakkavilai near the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border on June 24. Deepu, who operated a crusher unit at Malayam in Thiruvananthapuram, had left his home for Coimbatore to purchase equipment for his business. He was carrying cash worth Rs 10 lakh, his family said. The amount was missing from his car, but police later recovered Rs 7 lakh from Ambili’s house and are investigating the whereabouts of the remaining Rs 3 lakh.