One arrested over murder of auto driver in Kozhikode

KOZHIKODE: One person has been arrested in connection with the murder of auto driver Sreekanth (47) of Vellayil in Kozhikode. The arrested is Dhaneesh (33) of Vellayil. Sreekanth misbehaving with Dhaneesh’s mother led to the murder. He is being interrogated.

The incident happened on Panicker’ Road Sunday morning. The police said that Sreekanth, who was killed, is a suspect in a murder case registered at Elathur station in 2013. He is a suspect in several cases including the Prabhuraj murder case in Kunduparambu.

There were 15 big and small hacks on Sreekanth’s body. The preliminary conclusion of the investigating officers is that the accused hacked him continuously until his revenge was over and left the place after ensuring his death. Therefore, the investigation team is of the opinion that it is likely to be a premeditated killing and it is unlikely to have been done on sudden provocation.

Sreekanth's car was set on fire two days ago at the same place where the murder happened. The car cannot be taken to Sreekanth's house. So, he used to park the car at the same place regularly. He usually sleeps in the car at night. The window of the car was smashed and later doused petrol and set the car on fire at 1 am. However, Sreekanth escaped as he did not sleep in the car that day.

The case is being investigated by a team led by Town Assistant Commissioner K G Suresh and Vellayil inspector P Harish.