Death of Potakaran Varghese from Pariyaram; son arrested for murder

CHALAKUDY: The incident in which the head of the household died under mysterious circumstances in Pariyaram has been proven to be a murder. The son has been arrested. Regarding the death of Potakaran Varghese, the police has arrested his son Paul Varghese (24). The incident took place on March 20 at the house on Thavalapara Road.

The police said that Paul Varghese assaulted his father on the stairs inside the house and then yanked him down. Varghese suffered severe head injuries and never regained consciousness. After the incident, Paul Varghese called some friends and rushed Varghese to the hospital. Paul told the Ernakulam hospital authorities that Varghese had fallen down the stairs.

However, the neighbors informed the Special Branch Police that Varghese, who was ailing, was regularly beaten up by his drug-addicted son and were suspicious of the incident. Meanwhile, Varghese, who was on a ventilator, died on March 25. The incident unfolded when Joseph, a household worker from Thiruvananthapuram, was interrogated. Joseph, who had gone out at night and returned, saw the whole incident inside the house through the window. Only Varghese, his son Paul Varghese and Joseph lived in the house. Joseph's absence from home that night raised suspicions. A detailed interrogation followed. The footage of the son beating the father in the morning was caught on the surveillance camera inside the house. During the later inspection, the surveillance camera was also found to be non-functional, which made the police suspicious.

It was only through the intervention of Special Branch officers that the murder, which would have turned out to be an ordinary death, was brought to light. Chalakudy SHO: CK Sajeev, Principal SI: CB Madhu, SIs KJ Johnson, AU Reji, Joffi, CPO: Baiju, Special Branch CB Sherrill and PS Renish arrested the accused.