2 held for 'raping and murdering' Lithuanian tourist in Kerala
May 03, 2018 22:55
In a breakthrough in the mysterious death of 33-year-old Lithuanian tourist, Kerala police today arrested two people for allegedly raping and brutally murdering her.
The highly decomposed and headless body of the woman, who went missing on March 14, was recovered from a mangrove forest at Thiruvallam on April 21.
Briefing reporters, Kerala DGP Loknath Behara said the entire investigation was conducted on the basis of circumstantial evidence and using scientific methods.
"The case was homicide. It was unfortunately brutal. It should not have happened to any woman," behara said.
Efforts are also on to ascertain if anymore people are directly or indirectly involved in the case, he said.
He also lauded his officers who had cracked the case working 24x7 and said all those connected with the probe would be given the DGP's special award.
Investigating officer, Manoj Abhraham said the accused have been charged under IPC sections 302 (murder), 376 (rape) and 20(b) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances NDPS Act.
City Police Commisisoner, P Prakash, also part of the investigations, told PTI that the woman was raped and murdered by the two accused, Umesh and Udayan, who are drug peddlers, on March 14, the day she went missing.
"The accused lured her to the spot saying it was a scenic and beautiful place, made her consume ganja, and then sexually assaulted and strangled her to death," he said.
The motive of the murder was sexual assault, he said.
"The accused then tried to make it look like a suicide. They hung her body in a natural creaper."
As the decomposition set in, after about 30 days, the head fell off the body, he added. -- PTI
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