Couple held for woman’s murder in Alappuzha

A shocking twist has emerged in the murder of a woman who lived alone at Ottappana, near Thotappally in Alappuzha.

The victim, Hamlath, 62, was found dead in her bedroom on August 17. Initially, the police arrested Abubacker, a local resident, on charges of raping and murdering her. However, investigations later revealed that she was murdered by Sainulabdeen, 43, of Thrikkunnapuzha and his wife, Aneesha, both of whom have now been held, during a burglary attempt.

Abubacker, who is in remand at present, had indeed visited the woman’s house. However, the murder took place only after he left. After midnight, the accused couple reached the house. They cut off the power supply, broke open the kitchen door and entered the house.

Hamlath, who had been suffering from breathing difficulty, was asleep. Sources said when she heard the noise and raised an alarm, Aneesha grabbed Hamlath’s legs tightly while Sainulabdeen smothered her to death.

The couple took away a bangle from the cupboard and her mobile phone. Before leaving, they scattered chilli powder at the spot to cover their tracks.

During investigation, the police arrested Abubacker, who was known to be close to Hamlath. However, the police were puzzled as they could not trace Hamlath’s mobile phone. Later, they discovered that the phone was being used with a different SIM card. Tracking it, the police reached the spot and nabbed the real culprits.

Officials said that Abubacker would be cleared of murder charges.