Chendamangalam mass murder: Public outrage posing challenge to evidence collection, more policemen will be deployed

KOCHI: With the public outrage in the Chendamangalam case intensifying, the police are facing a challenge in taking the accused to the incident site to gather evidence. A group of people had attacked and destroyed the accused Rithu Jayan’s house yesterday evening. Meanwhile, the police have sought the custody of the accused for four days. The Paravur Court will consider the custody application today. If granted custody, the police plan to bring the accused to the scene for further evidence collection.

Due to the public outrage against Rithu, the police have increased their presence and surveillance in the area. In the coming days, more police will be deployed for further evidence collection. Earlier, when the accused was brought to court, the crowd had attempted to attack him.

Yesterday evening, around 6 PM, a group attacked Rithu's house, breaking windows among other things. Two local youngsters have been taken into police custody in connection with the incident. Rithu’s parents, who were at home, have moved to a relative’s house for safety.

On Thursday, Chendamangalam native Venu (69), his wife Usha (62), and their daughter Vineesh (32) were brutally beaten to death by their neighbour Rithu Jayan (28). Vineesh’s husband, Jithin, was severely injured and is currently receiving treatment at a private hospital in Ernakulam. His condition remains critical.

Following an existing dispute between the neighbours, Rithu barged into Venu's house and attacked the family with an iron rod. Initially, some reports had claimed that Rithu may have had a mental illness and was under the influence of drugs. However, the police have denied these claims. Rithu told the police that he had intended to attack Jithin but ended up assaulting the others as well.