THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A search for the accused in connection with hacking to death a hotel receptionist in the capital city has been intensified. Ayyappan (34) of Nagercoil, was brutally hacked to death by a person who came on a bike. This is the second murder witnessed in the capital city this month. A woman employee of a plant nursery was murdered on February 6 in Ambalamukku.

The miscreant barged into the City Tower hotel in Thampanoor with deadly weapons. He soon went near Ayyappan who was sitting in a chair. He soon caught hold of him by his neck and then hacked him on his neck, head and hanks with a machete. It is clear from the CCTV visuals that the accused came to the hotel with the intention of killing him. After hacking him several times, he left the hotel after confirming his death. Then he fled on his bike kept outside.

The motive behind the murder is not known. Only Ayyappan and the room boy were there in the hotel at the time of the incident. By the time the boy returned after throwing waste, the accused fled after committing the crime. He then saw Ayyappan lying in a pool of blood.

The hotel owner’s wife said that she went home last night after talking to Ayyappan. One of the hotel owners said that Ayyappan had never told him about any issues and that he had not noticed any such thing also. Ayyappan is a distant relative of the hotel owners.