E-Paper
Kerala court rejects Jolly Thomas’ bail plea in cyanide killings case
The SIT opposed the bail plea of all the three arrested and told the court that since the investigation was at a crucial stage their release could affect the ongoing probe.
The first class judicial magistrate court in Thamarassery (Kozhikkode) rejected the bail petition of prime suspect in cyanide killings Jolly Joseph (47) on Saturday and sent her to judicial custody for two weeks along with two of her accomplices.
The special investigation team (SIT) has earlier recorded her arrest in another case for murdering her relative Cily. During investigations Jolly reportedly confessed to the police that she had given cyanide-laced pills to Cily at a dental clinic after which she died within a few hours. A year after Cily’s death Jolly had married her husband Shaju Scaria in 2017.
She was initially arrested in connection with the alleged murder of her first husband Roy Thomas on Oct 5. The SIT is yet to record her arrest for the killings of the other four family members.
The SIT opposed the bail plea of all the three arrested and told the court that since the investigation was at a crucial stage their release could affect the ongoing probe. The court accepted its contention and sent them to judicial custody till November 2.
There was confusion in the court regarding Jolly’s counsel. Jolly told the court that she had signed the power of attorney in the hope that she could avail free legal aid.
The lawyers assembled in the court protested upon hearing this and said, BA Aloor, the counsel of the accused, Jolly Joseph, has misled her. Alor had earlier also claimed that Jolly’s family had approached him to take up the case.
All six killings unfolded in Koodathayi, a small village in Kozhikkode district in northern Kerala, in a span of 17 years. The case came to light after one of the sons of late Tom Thomas, Rojo Thomas who is settled in the US, raised suspicion about mysterious deaths of his family members and filed a police complaint.
After a two-month examination, the bodies of the six deceased family members were exhumed and it was followed by the arrest of Jolly Joseph and two others on October 6.
Jolly’s mother-in-law Anamma Thomas was the first to one get killed in 2002; her father-in-law Tom Thomas was allegedly killed in 2008, followed by her first husband Roy Thomas in 2011 and Mathew Manjadiyil, the brother of Anamma Thomas, in 2014.
The killings resumed two years later when another relative, Cily, and her one-year-old child died under mysterious circumstances. There were eerie similarities between these deaths and Jolly was the only one present during all of these deaths. It was also found during the investigation that Jolly was faking the job of a professor at the National Institute of Technology in Kozhikkode for 14 years.
