The prime suspect in the alleged double murder at Adooparambu, Companypady, near Muvattupuzha, Kerala, has been tracked down and detained in Odisha with the help of the local police there.
The special investigation team (SIT) formed to crack the case has been after Gopal Malik, 22, of Odisha, after his co-workers Deepasankar, 40, and Mohanto, 37, both from Assam, were found with their throats slit at a room near a sawmill where they were working on November 5, 2023. The police suspected that Gopal Malik, who was staying with them, had fled the scene after allegedly committing the crimes.
“The suspect was tracked down to Odisha and has been detained there by the Odisha Police. Our team is on its way. The motive behind the crime would be known only after interrogating the suspect after bringing him here,” said a senior Ernakulam Rural police officer.
The police had on November 6 expanded the probe to Odisha after tracing the suspect there. The police had found that the suspect had booked the ticket to Odisha even before the alleged murder. His mobile tower location was also verified by the police.
The police had taken one Santosh, a migrant worker who was staying near the room occupied by the victims, into custody.
The murder came to light when the wives of the deceased made frantic calls to the owner of the mill as the two did not pick up their phones despite repeated calls. The owner then directed a person staying nearby and the manager of the sawmill to check whether they were in the room. They found the victims lying on the bed in a pool of blood and alerted the Muvattupuzha police.
The police found that the mobile phones of the victims were missing. The mobile phone of the accused was found switched off.
