'That day Subhadra said she had come to cut banana leaves to wrap rice'; bandage on corpse helped in identifying body

ALAPPUZHA: People of Korthussery were stunned to hear that a person had been buried in the backyard of a house in their densely populated neighbourhood. No one was able to believe it. For weeks, the police had been visiting the area in connection with the disappearance of an elderly woman from Kadavanthra. The people were further shocked when they heard that the couple, who were living in a rented house in the area, had also gone missing. The decomposed body of Subhadra (73), which was several weeks old, was found buried in the backyard of the Pazhampassery house in Mananchery's 23rd ward yesterday afternoon. The fact that the perpetrators were able to carry out the crime and bury the body without anyone noticing has left the police baffled.

On August 6th, AX William and his wife Molly, who lived nearby, saw Nithin and Sharmila, along with Subhadra and their relative Reynold, walking into the house. The next day, Sharmila told WIlliam that she and Nithin were going to Kadavanthra to drop their aunt (Subhadra) back home. When William saw them on the road at night, they claimed to be returning from Kadavanthra. Sharmila told William that she had seen a vehicle accident in the Kalavoor area that day and felt dizzy after witnessing it.

Mariyamma, a worker at the nearby Anganwadi, said that she saw Subhadra at Sharanya's house in July. Mariyamma saw Subhadra while the latter was trying to cut a banana leaf from the tree near the Anganwadi. Subhadra, who introduced herself as Sharmila's aunty, told Mariyamma that she came to cut the banana leaf to pack a meal.

Subhadra's bandage

Subhadra's children have identified their mother's body. The bandage that Subhadra wore for her knee pain helped them identify the body. The body is currently at Vandanam Medical College.