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28 March 2024

Kerala brothers arrested for murdering NRI father

Published
By VM Sathish

Two sons of a missing Indian expatriate running a hotel and cafeteria business in Kuwait have been named as suspects in the murder of their father by the Calicut Crime Branch of Kerala.

The NRI went missing mysteriously eight months ago, and investigators have now taken the sons into custody, charging them with the alleged murder of their father.

The news has sent shockwaves among the expatriate community in the Gulf and their families back home as reported cases of patricide and matricide are on the rise.

According to investigators, the elder son of the Indian businessman travelled from Kuwait to carry out the murder plan with the help of his young brother.

Eranjona Abdul Kareem (48) from Thamarassery, Calicut, was allegedly suffocated by his two sons, Midhulaj (24) and Firdous (22), using chloroform that they’d obtained illegally to make their father unconscious before executing their plan, according to Kerala Crime Branch officials, who announced the case details on Tuesday.

The officials noted that the sons’ original plan was to break his limbs, but the conspiracy ended up in the smothering and death due to suffocation.

Investigators from the Calicut Crime Branch headed by Deputy Super indent of Police S Muraleedharan on Tuesday arrested the two brothers who had earlier lodged a missing complaint for their father with the local police.

The brothers had lodged a police complaint that their father was missing since September 28, 2013, but investigations to find the missing NRI did not make any progress. Abdul Kareem was in Kerala since July 10, 2013, and he disappeared the day before he had to meet his mother along with other family members and was scheduled to fly back to Kuwait.

The victim’s mother and brother lodged another complaint seeking higher level inquiry because of the youth’s indifferent attitude towards the missing father. According to officials, the elder brother arrived in Calicut on September 16, 2013, to mastermind the plan, because he was abruptly stopped from meddling in the hotel business in Kuwait.

The youth were also upset that their father did not “love” their mother and was not footing family expenses as he used to do before marrying a Sri Lankan lady. They were not allowed to drive a four-wheel vehicle owned by the family and the ownership documents of various properties were handed over to Abdul Kareem’s brother.

Officials allege that the two brothers planned the murder, switched off power at night on September 28, 2013, when the father was offering his prayers. When their father went to check the electrical fuse to resume power supply, they forced him to inhale chloroform and suffocated him to death with a pillow.

The Crime Branch police claim that the duo has admitted to the crime but are yet to recover the dead body. They suspected that the body was dumped in a river in Mysore. Investigators say the two brothers tied up their father’s hands and legs and carried in the four-wheel vehicle after topping up fuel from an adjacent petrol station. A third person is said to have helped them carry the body, and according to the Kerala Crime Branch, more arrests will be made in the case.

The deceased NRI has a daughter studying in 10th standard. The elder son, who returned to Kuwait after the alleged murder, was brought back to Kerala on June 2, 2014, ostensibly to inquire about the missing father and arrested by the Crime Branch cops. The two brothers and their mother (wife of the murdered NRI) were quite indifferent about the missing father during questioning, the officials claim.

The duo have been sent to police custody for 14 days and will be questioned further to retrieve the missing dead body, officials said.

(Home page image courtesy Shutterstock)