Pangappara Abhiram murder case: police to seek custody of all accused

The Thiruvananthapuram City Police are preparing to seek custody of all four accused in the murder of 17-year-old Abhiram in Pangappara for detailed interrogation.

The investigators believe that questioning the accused together could help uncover inconsistencies in their statements and establish the exact sequence of events that led to the murder. Some of the accused persons have reportedly given contradictory accounts to the police team.

Meanwhile, one of Abhiram’s friends, who is suspected to be the intended target of the accused, has told the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that the prime accused, a 17-year-old minor, had assaulted him nearly two weeks prior to the murder.

The accused had also allegedly threatened to assault him again. This had apparently led to his refusal to meet the accused at Pangappara. His failure to turn up is believed to have prompted the 17-year-old accused and co-accused Umar to brutally attack Abhiram.

The SIT has also gathered findings that the accused minor had purchased a large sack from a scrap shop to transport the dead body. The shop owner has reportedly identified the minor. The fourth accused and Umar’s friend Aishwarya has reportedly provided investigators with information about the alleged plan to dispose of the body.

However, heavy rain on the particular day allegedly disrupted their plan. This led them to conceal the body in a nearby banana plantation, covering it with banana leaves before leaving the area.

According to official sources, the recovery of mobile phones belonging to Abhiram and the accused remains a major challenge in the case investigation. The accused reportedly gave conflicting statements about the whereabouts of the devices, while even claiming that they had been thrown into a nearby canal.