Ker police suspects witchcraft angle behind murder of family

Kerala police is suspecting witchcraft angle behind the gruesome murder of four members of a family, whose bodies were found buried in a pit in highrange Idukki, about 240 km from here.

The bodies of Krishnan (52), his wife Susheela (50), their daughter Arsha (21) and son Arjun (19) were found stacked on top of each other and buried in a pit in the backyard of their house yesterday.

A top police official said Krishnan had been practising witchcraft for the past several years and collecting money from local people promising to bring them luck and rid them of 'doshas' (evil-effects).

"The present developments are indicating the possibility of the revenge by somebody who was cheated by the promises made by Krishnan in the name of witchcraft," Idukki district police chief, K B Venugopal told PTI.

"The investigation is going on. So we cannot run into any conclusion right now. We can confirm this only after a detailed probe," he said.

A sixth standard drop out, Krishnan was leading a luxurious life and he was not known to have gone for any particular job, he said.

It was said that he used to lure people promising many things like removing evil-effects regarding their property and curing diseases in the name of occult practices.

A complaint was lodged in the local police station recently by some people who were allegedly cheated by Krishnan in the name of witchcraft, police sources said.

The deceased lived in a secluded place in a rubber estate at Mundanmudi.

According to neighbours, the family had been missing for the past four days.

As suspicions mounted, neighbours and some relatives had gone to the house yesterday morning and found blood stains on the floor and walls and immediately informed police.

Police said a search in the backyard revealed loose soil and when they removed it, the four bodies, with injuries, were found dumped on top of each other.

They could have been killed after July 29, police added.