Kerala police arrested a suspect in the murder case of a businessman in Vadakara. Mohammad Shafiq (22), a native of Vadanappally, Thrissur, was detained by a special investigation team. Vatakara is between Kannur and Kozhikode, while Vadanappally is 150 km south of Vadakara. Shafiq confessed that he killed Rajan after the latter tried to stop Shafiq from robbing his store.
On 24 December, Saturday night, Rajan (62), the owner of the EA Grocery Traders on Vanitha Road near the Old Bus Stand area, was murdered inside the shop. Police later found CCTV footage of the suspect riding pillion on Rajan’s motorcycle around 8.30 pm on Saturday.
Police claimed that Rajan met Shafiq through social media and the two became friends. Taking advantage, Shafiq reached Vadakara from Thrissur three days before the murder. Shafiq reached Rajan’s shop and tried to steal money. When Rajan resisted, Shafiq used a plastic cover and suffocated Rajan to death.
The police said that Shafiq’s habit is of committing theft after pretending to be friends through social media. There are many cases against him in Thrissur and other districts.
Rajan had a habit of ‘mingling with friends’ (code for those with a drinking habit in Kerala) after lowering his shop shutter from 8 pm onwards. He used to return home late. When Rajan failed to return home, his family members searched for him. It was early Sunday morning on December 25 when the Hindu trader was found dead inside the shop.
Police found signs of violence inside the shop. Rajan was found dead on top of a sack of groceries, killed by strangulation and suffocation. There were bruises on his face and neck. After the murder, Shafiq robbed Rajan’s three pavan gold chains, rings, and money from the shop before escaping on Rajan’s motorcycle.
An autopsy found that the death was a homicide. The police concluded that someone who knew Rajan closely was behind the murder. Another trader informed police that Rajan’s usual friends did not come that Saturday night. He added that he saw the presence of another stranger that night when he closed his shop around 8 pm.
Rajan was available on his mobile chats till 8:30 pm. Police interrogated around 20 people, primarily those who had called and chatted with Rajan since the morning of the murder. The investigation was focused on his mobile calls and WhatsApp chats. It was focused on the people who knew Rajan personally but found nothing concrete.
Police also checked the CCTV footage of the main centers of the town. They could not identify the person (suspected of Shafiq) riding the bike with Rajan. Efforts began to locate Rajan’s motorcycle. Police concluded that the accused could also be found if the vehicle is found.
Rural SP R Karupapaswamy inspected the shop and its premises. A 10-member special investigation team was formed under the leadership of Vadakara CI Manoj to investigate the case. Vadakara DySP R Hariprasad headed it, and they began investigating the case.
The police got footage from a shop near the scene of the murder. Based on that, the police conducted an extensive search for Shafiq but failed to locate him. This was when Shafiq’s photo was released to the public, which finally led to his capture from Thrissur.
Why Rajan would befriend Shafiq remains unknown. Naive ‘secular’ Hindus, indoctrinated with communist ideology, still blindly trust Islamists in Kerala, more so than in other parts of Bharat. Addiction to liquor is widespread in the state . Once intoxicated and having lost all inhibitions, such addicts fall easy prey to criminals.
