A couple residing in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district were arrested for alleged brutal torture of two men after inviting them to their residence.
The couple have been identified as Malayil Veetil Jayesh, 30, and his wife Reshmi, 25, both originally hailing from Koipuram village, The Indian Express reported.
Jayesh and Reshmi invited the men, aged 19 and 29, to their home on separate days, and brutally tortured and robbed them. Both victims had worked with Jayesh in Bengaluru and were therefore friends with the couple. The case came to light when the 29-year-old victim registered a case last week, claiming that he had been assaulted by his girlfriend's family.
However, after finding gaps in his statement, the police investigated the matter further, eventually finding that the couple was behind the attack, according to The Indian Express report. The police probe further revealed that they had also attacked a 19-year-old. Jayesh and Reshmi were taken into police custody on September 12.
Attack part of revenge plan, victims invited to accused's home
The police said that the wife, Rashmi, had maintained relationships with the victims, adding that her husband Jayesh had found her chats with both men. Following this, Jayesh planned to take revenge, with Rashmi agreeing to the act as part of a truce with her husband.
{{/usCountry}}The police said that the wife, Rashmi, had maintained relationships with the victims, adding that her husband Jayesh had found her chats with both men. Following this, Jayesh planned to take revenge, with Rashmi agreeing to the act as part of a truce with her husband.
{{/usCountry}}According to the 29-year-old's statement to the police, he was invited to the couple's residence for Onam celebrations on September 5. However, when he reached the couple's house, he said he was “greeted with pepper spray.”
“Both my hands were tied and I was hung from a wooden pole overhead. Reshmi brutally attacked me with various objects, including iron rods,” the victim told the police, The Indian Express reported.
“While Reshmi tortured me, Jayesh recorded it on a mobile phone. My privates were stapled several times,” he said, adding that after the assault, the couple dropped him off at a location called Puthumon. The accused further threatened him to provide a false story of being thrashed by the family of the girl he love.
After the couple's arrest, the police learned that they had tortured another man on September 1. The victim, who hails from Alappuzha, told the police that he was invited by the couple, and picked up by Jayesh from Maramon area on a two-wheeler, according to The Indian Express.
He was allegedly tortured and stripped, with his hands being tied by a shawl. He was then hung by the shawl on a wooden beam, with Jayesh recording the act, and was beaten all over the body and tortured with pliers. The couple also robbed him of ₹20,000, giving him ₹1,000 for travel and dropping him off at the autorickshaw stand.
The probe in the case revealed that Jayesh had faced a POCSO case years ago, and had been jailed for the same. However, he later married Rashmi, and the couple had two children, The Indian Express quoted a naeighbour as saying.