The police on Sunday arrested Kanchiyar resident Vattanmalakkunnel Vijesh, 28, husband and accused in the murder of the 27-year-old woman teacher at Kanchiyar, near Kattappana, in Idukki.
According to Kattappana Deputy Superintendent of Police V.A. Nishadmon, the accused was arrested on Sunday in a forest area on the Kumily-Tamil Nadu border. The body of P.J. Valsamma alias Anumol was found dead inside the home at Pezumkandam, near Kattappana, on March 21 evening. Her body was wrapped in a blanket and was stored under a cot in the bedroom. Vijesh, the accused, was absconding since his wife’s body was recovered from the bedroom.
According to police, the accused killed his wife after she lodged a complaint in the woman’s cell regarding the harassment of her husband after consuming alcohol. After committing the murder, the accused sold her mobile phone and abandoned his cell phone in a forest area in Kumily. Police traced the accused after finding his mobile phone at Kumily. When the police team led by V.A. Nishadmon intensified the search to find the accused, the police received closed-circuit television (CCTV) visuals that the accused had moved to Kumily check post to Rosapookandam. Following the information, Kumily Circle Inspector Jobin Antony led the police team arrested the accused.
Anumol was a teacher at the Jyothi Primary School at Pallikavala, Kanchiyar. Before the absconding, the accused shifted their five-year-old daughter to his parental home at Vengaloor Kada. Police said that the accused also tried to cover up the murder.
