Ex-DGP of Uttarakhand and son write book on murder case that shook Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As per a Malayalam media outlet, a book is being released on the investigation done on the Uthara murder that rocked Kerala. The said book, ‘Fangs of Death’, is written by ex-DGP of Uttarakhand Aloke Lal and his son Maanas Lal.

It was in May 2020 that Uthara, who hailed from Eram in Anchal was found dead in her bedroom having suffered a snake bite. Her husband Sooraj after attaining all her wealth had killed her using a cobra snake. The snake catcher Suresh turned approver by giving a very crucial statement. There were 87 witnesses, 288 documents and 40 mainours.

Sooraj had taken the cobra snake from Suresh. Before that, Sooraj had forced a bite from a viper on Uthara at his house in Parakkottu in Adoor. She was recovering from this when Sooraj forced a cobra to bite her.

Sooraj had told that the snake had gotten into the house through a window and bitten Uthara. Her relatives did not find it suspicious at first. However seeing his behavior during the funeral made them question whether he had a role to play in her death.

Uthara’s brother acted upon this suspicion and gave a statement to the local police station. But, the investigation though was not done properly. When Sooraj was told to have Uthara's money and gold transferred to the baby’s name, Sooraj got furious and left. This only added more suspicion.

On May 21, 2020, Uthara’s relatives lodged a complaint saying that there is some unknown mystery towards her death. The next day, they went to rural SP Harishankar to give another complaint. It was in the investigation that followed that Sooraj was found to have killed Uthara.

On May 23, police arrested both Sooraj and the snake catcher Suresh. On June 7th G. Mohanraj was selected as the public prosecutor. It was during the search on July 14th for more evidence that Sooraj admitted that he had killed Uthara.
Sooraj was sentenced to life for the murder of Uthara using a cobra snake, another life sentence for attempting to kill Uthara using a viper, 10 years of jail-time for the use of poison, and 7 more years for destroying evidence.