Thiruvananthapuram, Two people, including an 18-year-old girl, have been arrested, and a teenage boy has been detained in a case relating to the murder of a 17-year-old boy whose body was stuffed in a sack and dumped in a vacant plot here a day ago, police said on Tuesday.
The girl and boy were acquaintances of the deceased Abhiram who had gone missing from his home on Sunday afternoon, police said.
The third accused, Umar, was involved in other criminal cases and is facing proceedings under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities Act , police said.
Abhiram's body was found stuffed inside a sack and dumped among banana plants in an isolated plot at Pangappara near Sreekaryam here on Monday.
On Tuesday, his father raised serious doubts over the circumstances surrounding his son's murder, claiming that his son was not the intended target and was killed after he refused to bring another boy to the spot at the request of the accused.
Abhiram's parents approached the Sreekaryam police after he failed to return home.
His body was later recovered during the investigation following the questioning of some of his friends.
{{/usCountry}}His body was later recovered during the investigation following the questioning of some of his friends.
{{/usCountry}}A preliminary examination suggested that the boy had been strangled to death, a police officer said.
According to the father, the 17-year-old boy named as the first accused in the case had called Abhiram using a phone belonging to the accused girl, and asked him to come to Pangappara.
After Abhiram reached the spot, he was allegedly asked to bring another friend there. The father claimed that the group was actually looking for that friend and that his son was killed after he refused to cooperate.
The father also questioned the claim that the 17-year-old alone committed the murder. He suspects that the boy may have taken responsibility for the crime to shield others, as his age could mean a comparatively limited period of punishment under the law.
"How could a 17-year-old have committed such a crime all by himself? I suspect that he has been made to take the blame for others," the father said, expressing doubts over the sequence of events.
He further alleged that the police had failed to question the teenager properly when he was initially taken into custody.
Instead of continuing the interrogation, the police allegedly allowed him to leave with his father after asking him to return to the station the following morning.
The father said a proper interrogation at that stage could have helped uncover the truth earlier.
He also questioned what had happened during the intervening hours before the teenager was questioned again.
He said Abhiram and the 17-year-old were not close friends, though they had studied at the same school.
The victim's father also pointed out that his son had no particular reason to visit the isolated location unless he had been specifically called there.
"This should not be treated as an ordinary murder case. I want the entire conspiracy behind my son's death to be brought out," he said.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.