In a major breakthrough, the police team probing the murder of a 60-year-old woman in Kottayam here on Saturday recovered three mobile phones and a bunch of keys stolen from her residence.
Based on a statement by Muhammad Bilal, the accused in the case, the police carried out a search in the Vembanad Lake, near Thanneermukkom, and recovered three mobile phones and the keys, besides a couple of knives and a pair of scissors used for the crime.
The materials, wrapped in a plastic cover, also included the cell phone used by the victim.
During interrogation, the accused had confessed to throwing the materials into the lake from the Thanneermukkom Bund.
Critical recovery
“Recovering these materials was critical in ascertaining whether the investigation is heading in the right direction. The focus is now upon completing the evidence collection process and recovering the remaining portion of the gold jewellery stolen from the victim’s house,” said a police officer.
Following this, the police took the accused to Alappuzha where he had abandoned a car stolen from the crime scene and to the lodge where he had stayed prior to leaving for Kochi.
Probe on
A probe is also on to ascertain whether the accused had received any help locally from Alappuzha.
The investigators took Bilal into custody from the Judicial First Class magistrate court here for three days. Though he had been remanded in judicial custody earlier, Bilal had been admitted to a quarantine centre in Pala as part of completing the COVID-19 screening procedures.
Bilal is now slated to be produced before the court on Monday.
