'Mother, son and friend; rarest of rare case': shocking details of Shanthakumari murder

NEYYATTINKARA: Three accused, including a mother and son, were sentenced to death in the case of murdering Shanthakumari (74), a Mullur native, back in 2022. The trio murdered the elder woman after stealing her jewellery and hid her mortal remains in the attic of a house. Shanthakumari led a solitary life in her house in Vizhinjam.

Neyyattinkara Additional District Judge A.M.Basheer sentenced death to Rafika (51), and her son Shefiq (27), both residents of Vizhinjam Township Colony and to Palakkad Pattambi native Al Amin (27). The court termed the case as 'rarest of rare'. The punishment is under the sections of conspiracy, murder, destruction of evidence and robbery.

The incident took place on January 14, 2022. Shanthakumari's son is a hotelier and her daughter is in Andhra Pradesh. The accused, who were the tenants of the neighbouring house, were planning to kill the widow Shanthakumari to steal her jewellery. Rafika befriended Shanthakumari and extended an invitation to their house. It was here that both Shefiq and Al-Amin tied a cloth around her neck and squeezed.

While the gruesome act continued, Rafika hit her head with an iron hammer. Al-Amin took the same hammer and smashed the victim’s forehead and head to ensure death. After stealing gold necklaces, bangles, rings and earrings from the dead body, the trio hid the body between the asbestos roof and attic of the house. The police found the body with the help of the fire force.

After selling some gold at Anjana Jewellery in Vizhinjam, the three took an AC room near Power House Road to stay during the night. Later they tried to elope to Thrissur but were caught by Vizhinjam police. The prosecution examined 34 witnesses. Public Prosecutor Parassala A. Ajikumar appeared in the case.

These culprits are also accused in the case of beating a 14-year-old girl to death with a hammer at Kovalam, a year before Shanthakumari's murder. Shefiq raped the girl and killed her to prevent the truth from coming out. However, the truth came to light during the investigation stage in Shanthakumari’s case.