THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A West Bengal native, the prime suspect in the murder of a 68-year-old woman near Kesavadasapuram, has been taken into custody by Kerala police from Chennai. Adam Ali was apprehended by Tamil Nadu police on Monday with the help of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) from Chennai. He had allegedly fled the state after murdering Manorama by strangling her.
After being handed over by Tamil Nadu police, the state police produced the 21-year-old before a local court and obtained his transit custody. The police have left for Thiruvananthapuram with Adam and are slated to arrive here on Wednesday morning.
Adam had left the state after allegedly murdering Manorama and then dumping her body in a well near her house on Sunday. The preliminary autopsy report confirmed that the woman was strangled to death. The investigating team had suspected that the assailant would try to flee to his hometown in West Bengal.
After the crime, Adam left for Thampanoor Central Railway station to catch Shalimar Express to travel to West Bengal. The police team recovered CCTV visuals which showed him entering the railway station by 4.15 pm. It was found that by the time he reached the station, Shalimar Express had left. The police then came to the conclusion that he had boarded another train to Chennai from where he could catch the Monday evening’s Howrah Mail.
The Tamil Nadu police and RPF were duly alerted by City Police Commissioner G Sparjan Kumar. Based on the alert, the suspect was taken into custody from the Chennai railway station. The police said a gold chain, bangles and stud worn by the victim were missing from the body. The missing gold ornaments weighed six sovereigns.
Immediately after the body was found in the well, the police took five West Bengal natives into custody for questioning. Four of the detainees stayed with the suspect, while one was in contact with him over the phone. They allegedly told the police that the suspect was into substance abuse and hooked to PUBG.
They told the police that he had thrown his phone on the ground after losing a game. He also reportedly told the roommates that he had entered into a fight with a woman in the neighbourhood.