Kollam: Revealing more details about the Pappachan murder case, police confirmed former bank manager and third accused Saritha was the prime orchestrator of the crime. She purportedly took advantage of Pappachan's forgetfulness.

C Pappachan (82), a retired BSNL assistant general manager, was strict with his financial dealings and only used to talk to Saritha about his transactions. Pappachan maintained good relations with the bank employees who managed his retirement benefits as a fixed deposit. According to police, Saritha decided to extort Rs 40 lakh from Pappachan once she realised his memory had begun to fail him.

Saritha has not expressed any remorse so far. A police probe was launched into Pappachan's death, which was initially termed an accident, after his daughter became suspicious about his demise. The murder, staged to look like an accident, was committed by Animon, a contract killer hired by Saritha. On May 26, Animon drove a rented car into Pappachan's bicycle, killing him instantly. The incident occurred in an alley next to the Ashramam Ground.

According to police, Saritha meticulously planned the murder. She assigned bank staffer Anoop to manage all of Pappachan's financial transactions. Anoop was a regular visitor at Pappachan's house. He even accompanied Pappachan to various places. On the day of the murder, Anoop lured Pappachan to the spot where the quotation gang was waiting in the car and fled the scene. He is the fourth accused in the case. Animon and his accomplice Mahin are the first and second accused respectively. Their custody period will end on Monday.

Police also revealed that though Saritha was the mastermind behind the crime, the quotation gang threatened her to pay more than what was promised. Saritha spent some of the money stolen from Pappachan. The quotation gang extorted Rs 19 lakh from Saritha. Half of the remaining amount was given to Anoop.

Police have confiscated Saritha's laptop and the mobile phone used at the time of the murder. The investigation team seized the crucial evidence from the house of Saritha's relative in Thiruvananthapuram. The amount stolen is yet to be recovered.