A 39-year old Gulf-returnee was allegedly murdered using a soil excavator at Kattakada during the early hours of Friday when he objected to the removal of soil from his land by a group of people. While the driver of the excavator was arrested within a few hours of the gruesome incident, at least five more accused are yet to be caught.
Sangeeth, of Sreemangalam house in Ambalathinkala, near Kattakada, succumbed to injuries after being knocked down using the bucket of the excavator during his futile attempt to prevent the gang from escaping before the police could reach the spot. The incident occurred around 1.30 a.m.
According to the police, Sangeeth used to sell soil from his property for constructing various infrastructure in the area, including those by the Forest Department.
Undesignated area
While Sangeeth’s wife Sangeetha had initially presumed the excavation to be undertaken for a project of the Forest Department, she sensed something amiss when the gang began to remove soil from an undesignated area. She soon alerted Sangeeth, who was in their nearby poultry farm.
Sangeeth rushed to the spot and questioned the drivers of the tipper lorry and the excavator.
Alarmed over the land owner seeking police assistance, the duo alerted a few others who rushed to the spot. While the gang demanded that they be permitted to leave the premises, Sangeeth blocked the entrance pathway using his car.
While the gang managed to remove the tipper by breaking down a portion of the compound wall, the driver of the excavator knocked down Sangeeth, who attempted to thwart the escape along with one of his neighbours.
Despite being rushed to a private hospital at Kattakada and later to the Government Medical College Hospital here, Sangeeth’s life could not be saved.
While local residents managed to seize a motorcycle that purportedly belonged to a member of the gang, the police later seized the excavator that was found abandoned nearby.
One surrenders
Shortly after the police launched their probe, the excavator driver, Vijin, 29, of Choondupalaka, near Kattakada, surrendered. The police have intensified the search for the other accused, two of whom have been identified as Uthaman and Saju.
According to Nedumangad Dy.SP Stuart Keeler, the attack was not a premeditated one. He pointed out that Sangeeth had permitted the same gang to excavate soil from the area in the past for various works.
Sangeeth, whose body is kept in the mortuary of the Government Medical College Hospital, is survived by his wife and two children, Sreehari, 6, and Sangeerthana, three-and-a-half.
Condemning the incident, Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala demanded a comprehensive probe into the incident. He also called for steps to rein in the nefarious activities by the soil mafia that operated in various parts of the State.
