Police on Tuesday arrested the prime accused in the gruesome murder of four family members in Thodupuzha, Idukki district of Kerala.
According to sources, Aneesh, a native of Adimaly in Kerala, was arrested by the Kalliyar police from his friend’s house in Neriamangalam, Ernakulam district on Tuesday night.
A source told TNM that the police received a tip-off from the locals that Aneesh was spotted in Neriamangalam following which they were able to apprehend him.
This arrest comes two days after the Kalliyar police arrested Libeesh, a resident of Karrikode, who is alleged to have helped Aneesh carry out the murder.
“After questioning Libeesh, the police were able to get the information that Libeesh had mortgaged the jewellery which was stolen from Krishnan’s house for money and had given a portion of the jewellery to Aneesh,” said the source.
Police also reportedly said that the accused, on the day they buried the bodies of the family members, had gone to a nearby shop to buy gloves.
Earlier, TNM had reported that Aneesh, who is a friend of Krishnan - head of the family of four that was murdered, had allegedly killed the latter because he thought Krishnan had ‘stolen’ his black magic powers.
According to the police, Aneesh 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 as well as expected and he failed to garner many followers.
Idukki Superintendent of Police KB Venugopal, reportedly told the media, “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. Hence, he decided that the only way to solve this issue was to get rid of Krishnan, who also had ancient palm-leaf books.”
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, and he lured Libeesh to help him commit the crime.