A team from the Ernakulam Town South police investigating the alleged murder of a man by his friends almost two years ago has located the place in Goa where the crime was committed.
The team led by South police Station House Officer (SHO) M.S. Faisal has been in Goa for evidence collection since Monday. The Kochi City police had arrested Anil Chacko, 28, of Kottayam, his relative Stephin Thomas, 24, and T.V. Vishnu, 25, of Wayanad last week that led to the revelation of the alleged murder of Jeff John Lewis, 27, of Perumannur, Thevara, Kochi.
The victim had been missing since the middle of November 2021. He was allegedly beaten up and stabbed with a knife.
“We zeroed in on the location matching the confession of the accused within the limits of the Anjuna police station in North Goa. The local police had registered a case of unnatural death on November 27, 2021 which was hardly a fortnight since the victim had gone missing. Though the police had conducted a fair bit of investigation, they could not track the identity of the victim or ascertain if he was murdered,” said investigation sources.
The body of the victim had since been donated to a medical college, ruling out the possibility for identification by the family. However, the police had collected DNA samples of the victim. The investigation team remains hopeful of confirming the identity by testing for a match with the DNA samples of the family members.
The investigation team has been engaged in collecting circumstantial evidences and piecing together the string of events leading to the alleged murder.
According to preliminary findings by the police, Lewis was allegedly murdered and his body was abandoned in a deserted area following financial disputes related to drug transactions within days after he had gone missing. The accused had since then changed their mobile phones and SIM cards.
The victim used to go for days-long trips before he returned. However, that was not the case when he had gone the last time two years ago, following which the family lodged a petition with the police. It was the statement by the accused in another case that led to the accidental discovery of the alleged murder of the missing man.
