Brother of prime accused arrested in Priyamvada murder case, duo remanded

The Vellarada police have arrested Santhosh, the brother of the prime accused Vinod, in the murder case of his neighbour Priyamvada.

The victim’s decomposed body was recovered from near her neighbour Saraswathi’s house on Sunday. The incident had come to light when Saraswathi, Vinod’s mother-in-law, had raised suspicions about Priyamvada’s disappearance.

According to the police, Santhosh is suspected to have helped Vinod in burying the corpse. The duo have been remanded to judicial custody. The investigation team will soon submit an application to receive the duo’s custody.

Preliminary findings indicate that Vinod had concealed Priyamvada’s body beneath his bed for three days. To mask the odour of decomposition, he purportedly burned sandalwood sticks. It was Vinod’s own daughter, who accidentally stumbled upon the body, triggering the gruesome discovery, the police said.

Vinod, who allegedly confessed to the murder during initial interrogation, cited a long-standing financial dispute with Priyamvada as the motive. However, the victim’s children have denied any knowledge of such transactions. They added that gold ornaments, weighing over three sovereigns, which Priyamvada was last seen wearing have gone missing.

The police are also probing claims of quarrels that existed between the two over a boundary issue involving their properties.

Published - June 16, 2025 09:09 pm IST