Charred remains, forged documents: puzzle behind two disappearances

The Crime Branch (CB) team probing the disappearance of a woman from Ettumanur in Kottayam has arrested a 68-year-old man from Pallipuram, near Cherthala. The arrested has been identified as Sebastian. Earlier this week, investigators recovered charred human remains from the premises of Sebastian’s house at Pallipuram.

Officials said efforts are on to identify the remains through DNA testing. Investigators believe the remains are those of Jain Mathew (Jainamma), 55, who went missing from Ettumanur on December 23, 2024. Both Jain and Sebastian were reportedly known to each other for several years. The probe team located Sebastian’s house at Pallipuram based on Jain’s mobile phone location data from the time of her disappearance.

Jain reportedly left her home to attend a prayer meeting in Pala. After she failed to return home, her family filed a police complaint on December 28, 2024. The case, initially investigated by the local police, was later handed over to Crime Branch, Kottayam. Though the police interrogated Sebastian in May 2025, he denied any involvement in the woman’s disappearance. On July 28, the police dug up the premises of Sebastian’s house and recovered human remains.

Sebastian is also a suspect in the disappearance of another woman, Bindhu Padmanabhan, 46, from Kadakarappally more than a decade ago. Though the recovered body parts have not been conclusively identified, investigators believe they are likely those of Jain and not Bindhu.

Back in May 2018, the police launched an investigation based on a complaint by Bindhu’s brother Praveen Kumar, stating that his sister, who owned assets worth crores of rupees, had gone missing under mysterious circumstances a few years ago. The complainant alleged that some real estate brokers had taken possession of her assets after forging documents.

The probe revealed that Sebastian and another person, T. Mini, alias Jaya, had sold assets owned by Bindhu after forging documents. According to the police, a power of attorney was registered at the sub-registrar office, Pattanakkad, in 2013. Mini had signed the papers posing as Bindhu. Following this, a property owned by Bindhu worth ₹5 crore was sold to a Changanassery native, who later resold it to another person.

As the investigation progressed, Mini surrendered before a local court, while the police arrested Sebastian in connection with document forgery and illegal land deals. Though Sebastian was questioned about Bindhu’s whereabouts, it yielded no results. He was later released on bail. Further deepening the mystery, a 47-year-old man, who had been called for questioning in connection with the case, was found dead at his home in June 2018.

Earlier this year, a local court in Alappuzha rejected a plea by the CB team investigating Bindhu’s disappearance, which sought permission to conduct a polygraph test on Sebastian. With his recent arrest, investigators have expressed hope that they might get a lead in the Bindhu case.