Nenmara murders: Chenthamara nabbed by cops when hunger forced him out of hiding
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Palakkad: Chenthamara, a Palakkad native accused of killing two members of a neighbouring family, was taken into custody at Pothundy near Nenmara on Tuesday night. "He was apprehended in the Mattai forest area of Pothundy," Palakkad SP Ajit Kumar said.
After Chenthamara's arrest, tensions erupted outside the police station as locals staged a protest demanding his release. As the agitation escalated, the police resorted to a lathi charge to disperse the crowd, eventually locking the station gate to control the situation.
Chenthamara (58) had fled to the forest after hacking to death Lekshmi (68) and her son Sudhakaran (50). He is also accused of murdering Sudhakaran's wife, Sajitha, in 2019.
The Nenmara police had been conducting an extensive search for Chenthamara since the murders of Lekshmi and Sudhakaran. He was reportedly caught while attempting to return home for dinner.
"We learned from local residents could not endure without food for long. We were certain he would come home for food. As his hunger worsened, Chenthamara descended from Pothundy hill. The police nabbed him on his way home," said DySP N Muralidharan.
He added that a similar strategy had been used to capture him during the 2019 murder case. At that time, too, the accused, who had been in hiding, was caught when he emerged, unable to endure his hunger any longer.
Chenthamara was recently released on interim bail in Sajitha's murder case, with the trial set to begin next month. However, after his release from Viyyur Jail, he allegedly issued death threats to Sudhakaran. Reports suggest he harboured animosity towards Sudhakaran's family, believing they were responsible for his wife and children leaving him.
Lekshmi was attacked when she tried to stop Chenthamara from harming Sudhakaran. While Sudhakaran died on the spot, his mother succumbed to her injuries on the way to hospital on Monday.
On Tuesday, Nenmara SHO Mahendra Simhan was suspended for alleged lapses that allowed Chenthamara to violate his bail conditions and commit the murders of Sudhakaran and Lekshmi.