Missing case of Vijil of Kozhikode, skeletal remains found after six years

KOZHIKODE: The skeletal remains of Vijil of Kozhikode, who went missing six years ago, have been found. The remains were found in a wetland near Sarovaram Bio Park. The stones used to weigh down his body have also been found. The police have been searching for the body for about a month following the revelations of his friends.

A shoe suspected to be that of Vijil was found the other day. The remains of the body were found in the search conducted in this area. With this, crucial evidence has been obtained in the case. His friends revealed that Vijil was buried in the wetland. The investigation conducted by the Elathur police on his missing complaint suspected his friends, but further investigation did not lead anywhere. The investigation took a turning point when the newly arrived SHO Ranjith K R, took over the case on the instructions of city police commissioner T Narayanan.

During interrogation, his friends revealed that Vijil collapsed and died after using brown and buried the body in the swamp. Nikhil K K of Eranjipalam in Kulangara Kandi and Deepesh of Vengeri, are friends. The accused arrested by the police were produced before the Koyilandy Judicial First-Class Magistrate Court and remanded. The police have now registered a case under sections such as culpable homicide, destruction of evidence and disrespect towards a body.

Vijil went missing on March 29, 2019. Vigil, left home and did not return. His friends told police that Vijil's death was not a murder and was due to excessive consumption of drugs. They said he collapsed and died after consuming excessive brown sugar in an empty field in Sarovaram. Nikhil injected the drug to Vijil. The statement given to the police is that the accused, who realized that Vijil was dead, weighed his body into the wetland with stones to destroy evidence.

Vijil and the arrested were close friends since childhood. After examining the CCTV footage, the police found that Vijil had gone with his friends and conducted an investigation focusing on the phone tower. The investigation based on these clues led to the arrest of the accused. The contradictions in the statements of the youths also helped.