Kottayam: The pregnant woman found murdered in a rubber estate near Athirampuzha had been living with her suspected killer in his house for a month. The suspect was desperate to do away with the woman before his wife returned from abroad next week, the police said.
Khader Yousuf aka Bashir met Aswathi when he bought a house at Athirampuzha three years ago. Aswathi, the woman found murdered on Monday, was living with her father in the house opposite to Bashir’s.
Bashir’s wife was working abroad. He developed an affair with Aswathi and she became pregnant eventually.
Bashir took Aswathi to a relative’s house at Kolanchery six months ago and found her a job at a tailoring shop there. The woman, however, left the place, prompting the relatives to file a missing complaint with the police.
Bashir later found accommodation for Aswathi in a relative’s house in Bhopal and a hostel in Kochi among other places, the police have found. He compelled Aswathi to abort the pregnancy but she refused, the police added.
She was brought back to Athirampuzha, to his house, a month ago but time was running out for the couple. Bashir’s wife was to return home next week.
The police said that Aswathi and Bashir had an argument on Saturday night that led to the murder. Bashir struck down the pregnant woman and strangled her with a cloth. He dropped her body in the rubber estate.
However, he left a vital clue for the police. The polythene cover with which he had wrapped her body was part of a parcel he received from Delhi a year ago. The parcel number on the cover helped the police zero in on the suspect. The police questioned an employee of the courier company and got the information about Bashir.
Bashir was taken into custody from Mundakkayam on Monday. His arrest will be recorded on Friday after receiving the DNA test results.
Bashir, who hailed from Erattupetta, worked in a surgical equipment store in Kottayam.
He was questioned at the Police Club by a team led by Superintendent of Police N. Ramachandran. The police had taken Bashir and two others into custody on Monday.