Thiruvananthapuram: Five days after the horrific Venjaramoodu murders, Abdul Rahim, the father of Afan (23), the accused, arrived in Kerala on Friday. He headed straight from the airport to the hospital, where his wife, Shemi, is admitted after being grievously injured in an attack by their son.

Unaware of their youngest son Afsan’s death, Shemi’s first question to her husband was about their child. Holding back his grief, Rahim told her that he had seen Afsan, that he had gone for an exam, and that he would bring him along later.

Rahim spent about an hour at the hospital. However, Shemi did not disclose to him that their son had attacked her. Instead, she claimed that she had fallen from the bed and hit her head.

Rahim did not return to his home in Perumala, where the crime had taken place. Instead, he went to the burial grave at Thazhe Pangode, where his youngest son, mother, brother, and sister-in-law had been laid to rest. The scenes at Pangode were deeply emotional. Returning home after years, only to find his loved ones gone, Rahim broke down completely.

Rahim landed at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport at 7.30 am on an Air India Express flight from Dammam. His first call was to MLA D K Murali to express his gratitude. Rahim had been unable to return home for seven years due to legal complications after his business in Saudi Arabia collapsed, leaving him in debt. While struggling to repay his dues, he was suddenly struck by the devastating news from home.

Rahim was left in shock upon learning that his eldest son had mercilessly murdered his family members one by one. While at work in his shop in Dammam, his nephew called from India and informed him about the deaths of his brother, Abdul Latheef, and his wife, Sajitha.

As the details of his son’s brutal crimes unfolded, Rahim was completely shattered. Determined to return home at any cost, he received support from Malayali volunteers in Saudi Arabia and political leaders in Kerala, who helped facilitate his journey back.