Hemachandran murder case: Woman who acted as honeytrap bait arrested at airport

KOZHIKODE: In a significant breakthrough, the Medical College Police have arrested a woman who had been on the run abroad in connection with the high-profile honey-trap and murder of Wayanad native Hemachandran.

The accused, 44-year-old Leeba, a native of Ulikkal in Iritty, Kannur, was intercepted and detained by law enforcement officials immediately upon landing at the Karipur Airport on Sunday. Following her arrest, she was produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody.

According to Inspector Vipin, Leeba played a pivotal role in the conspiracy, acting as the bait to lure 54-year-old Hemachandran to the Kozhikode Medical College premises for the honey trap. She managed to flee the country shortly after the crime, prompting investigators to issue a lookout circular against her.

High drama unfolded at the Medical College Police Station on Sunday afternoon when Leeba was brought in for questioning. The accused lost her temper and engaged in a heated altercation with police officers, accusing them of leaking news of her arrest to the media. Refusing to enter the station house, she forced officers to scramble for a considerable period to calm her down before she could be escorted for a mandatory medical examination.

The case dates back to March 20, 2024, when Hemachandran—a resident of Poomala in Wayanad who was living in a rented house at Mayanad in Kozhikode—mysteriously vanished. Ten days after his disappearance, his anxious wife lodged a missing person report with the Medical College Police, triggering an intensive investigation.

The probe took a grim turn on June 28, 2025, when investigators exhumed Hemachandran’s body from a shallow grave in a remote forested area of Cherambadi in neighboring Tamil Nadu. Leeba is one of six individuals implicated in the gruesome murder. The prime suspect, Noushad, was also previously tracked down abroad and extradited by the investigation team to face trial.