One more arrest in Muthoot murder

A magistrate today remanded 11 men arrested yesterday for the murder on Friday night of business magnate Paul George Muthoot. In addition, the police say they caught nine others involved in the crime, including the man who did the actual knifing of Muthoot; after prolonged interrogation, the alleged knifer, Sathish, was also formally put under arrest in the course of the day.

He should be formally produced before a magistrate tomorrow. The others detained continue to be questioned.

However, the police reconstruction of the crime is still unclear and various questions remain. They say they are also hunting for some other criminals who were not part of the murder but took the dead man’s vehicle away, after the crime. As reported yesterday, Muthoot is said to have taken some of them along in his car when he happened to run into the other gang, in an unplanned encounter.

Yesterday, the police had said the car driven by Muthoot had collided with a motorcycle and didn’t stop, and that the gang that did kill him happened to be around; they are said to have chased the fleeing car and stabbed him in an altercation. The time span in which all this is supposed to have happened is no more than seven minutes.

In addition, the motorcyclist in question confirms he was hit by the Muthoot car, which then sped away but denies seeing any other person or persons who then chased it. He says the road was empty, it being around midnight, and he had telephoned his friends for help; they came and took him to hospital.

Journalists here queried the police on these and related issues, but the answers were not very convincing.

The magisterial remand of the 11 men arrested yesterday and produced before the court today is till September 5.