Kochi Man Charged with Murder After Woman's Body Found on Railway Track
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
Kochi, Feb 24 (NationPress) What was initially perceived as a railway mishap near Vyttila, Kerala, has now been determined to be a homicide. A Kochi resident has been apprehended for allegedly murdering a 35-year-old woman and abandoning her body on an unused railway track, attempting to disguise the act as suicide.
The suspect, named Shaji, was taken into custody by the Maradu police following significant evidence from CCTV footage and forensic analysis that linked him to the crime.
The deceased, Sudha Baby, originally from Kottayam, was discovered lifeless on the railway track beneath the Vyttila flyover late at night.
The body was first noticed by the loco pilot of the Amrita Express as it passed through Vyttila.
When police arrived at the scene around 4 a.m., they initially speculated whether she had fallen from a train.
However, injuries on her head and face, along with visible blood, were inconsistent with an accident, raising red flags about foul play. Subsequent inquest proceedings reinforced the belief that it was indeed a murder.
Authorities recovered mobile phones at the scene, and details from the SIM card aided in identifying the victim.
CCTV footage soon emerged as a pivotal piece of evidence.
The recordings depicted Sudha arriving at the track in a car alongside a man around 11:30 p.m.
The pair was seen heading towards the area under a nearby bridge.
Later footage showed the man, identified as Shaji, returning alone to the vehicle, with noticeable bloodstains on his shirt.
Police suspect that a verbal dispute between the two escalated into murder.
After committing the crime, the suspect allegedly positioned the body on the railway track to make it seem as if she had taken her own life by jumping in front of a train.
However, his plan unraveled as the body was discovered on a disused Ernakulam-Kottayam line that does not serve regular train traffic.
Within hours of the discovery, police tracked the vehicle seen in the footage and identified the suspect.
Shaji was subsequently detained for questioning and later formally arrested.
During interrogation, he confessed to the crime.
The crime scene, located beneath the Vyttila overbridge, is poorly lit at night, despite being surrounded by various establishments.