The Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday arrested two men who were accused of the brutal murders of a woman and her newborn twin daughters in Kerala in 2006. The suspects had been on the run for the past 19 years.
The case relates to the brutal murder of a 24-year-old woman and her newborn twin daughters, aged 17 days, on February 10, 2006 at Anchal in Kollam district. The case was initially registered at a local police station.
The investigation was transferred to the CBI by the Kerala High Court in January 2010 and the central agency re-registered the case on February 6, 2010.
The CBI investigation revealed that the murders were committed by Divil Kumar, a resident of Kollam, and his friend, Rajesh. Both the accused were absconding since then.
After a thorough investigation, the CBI filed a chargesheet before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Eranakulam, making both Divil and Rajesh chief accused, who were declared as Proclaimed Offenders by the Court. A person is declared a Proclaimed Offender after evading legal proceedings and failing to appear in court as required.
Efforts continued to trace the absconding accused. A team of CBI officials finally tracked down both Divil Kumar and Rajesh in Puducherry after receiving intelligence input and arrested them on Friday, January 3.
The probe agency also revealed that after committing the murders, the two accused tried to hide by concealing their identity. Divil Kumar had changed his name to Vishnu and Rajesh changed his name to Praveen Kumar. They got married in Puducherry, purchased properties and got settled there, the CBI probe further revealed.
Both accused were produced before the Jurisdictional Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate in Ernakulam on Saturday, and have been remanded to judicial custody.
