Days after a family of four was found buried in a pit in Kerala’s Thodupuzha, the police claimed that the motive behind the murder was black magic. The father, Krishnan, a practitioner of black magic, was allegedly killed by his friend Aneesh because he thought Krishnan had ‘stolen’ his black magic powers.
Superintendent of Police of Idukki KB Venugopal briefed the media on the case and stated that while Aneesh is absconding, they have arrested his friend Libeesh, a resident of Karikkode, who helped him carry out the murder.
According to the police, the main accused had been assisting Krishnan in his practice of black magic for the past two to three years. After a while, Aneesh decided to branch out on his own. However, his practice did not do well and he failed to garner any followers.
“Aneesh was Krishnan’s student and Libeesh was Aneesh’s friend. Both of them together committed the act on July 29, post 12 midnight. Aneesh also used to perform black magic just like Krishnan. In the recent past, Aneesh’s rituals didn’t bear fruit. So he thought that this was because Krishnan had snatched the powers away from him. So he decided that the only way to solve this issue is to get rid of Krishnan, who also had ancient palm-leaf books,” Venugopal said.
The bodies of Kanat Krishnan (52), his wife Susheela (50), their daughter Arsha (21) and son Arjun (18) were found stacked inside a pit dug in the backyard of their house last week.
The police said that Aneesh had been preparing for the crime for the last six months. Aneesh and Libeesh have known each other for 15 years. Aneesh lured Libeesh to help him commit the crime.
“Libeesh runs a two-wheeler workshop from his house. Earlier he was working in a Bullet showroom. They came to Krishnan’s house in Aneesh’s bike. By the time these two guys reached Krishnan’s house, Krishnan was asleep. So in order to bring him outside, they hit the goats that were reared by Krishnan,” the police officer said.
On the night of July 29, the duo reached Krishnan's house, which is located inside a rubber plantation at Kambakathanam. To attack the family, the two had carried spare parts of a bike. To lure Krishnan out of his house, the police said Aneesh and Libeesh beat a goat that was tied up outside the house. When Krishnan came out after hearing the goat bleat, they hit him on the head. Suseela, who also came out of the house, was killed as well.
“Krishnan’s wife came out of the house and Libeesh hit her and she defended herself and ran inside. The daughter followed the mother and she had a rod with her. She hit Aneesh in his head. She then started shouting and Aneesh closed her mouth with his palm, which she bit. The daughter then ran into the kitchen and she was hit and killed there. The son, who is a person with a mental disability, was also hit and then hacked with a machete in the house. They then stabbed each of the victims with a small knife that was lying around. The victims then lay in pools of blood scattered across the house. Once they ensured that the family was dead, they took the jewels and cash from the house,” the officer said. The police statement was based on Libeesh’s confession.
According to the police, the accused came back the next day to bury the bodies. The police said that when they came back, they realised that Arjun was not dead and hit him on the head with a hammer to kill him, before burying the entire family.
A manhunt has been launched for Aneesh.