MALAPPURAM: A Youth Congress leader who was involved in the search with the police after the murder of a young woman and her subsequent burial in the house compound with the assistance of his brothers has been apprehended. Two brothers, their father and a friend were captured.

Sujitha (35), the wife of Palliparam Mankuth Manoj Kumar who had gone missing on the 11th was killed. Vishnu (27), the Youth Congress Constituency Secretary hailing from Thuvvur Mathoth house along with his brothers Vysakh (21) and Vivek (20), his father Muthu (53) and his friend Moonnukandan Muhammad Shifan (18) have all been arrested.

Vishnu was the last person to contact Sujitha via phone. The crime came to light during police questioning as part of the search efforts. The motive behind the crime was the theft of gold ornaments.

Vishnu was the designated speaker for the protest march to Karuvarkund station organized today by the Thuvvur Panchayat UDF Committee to find Sujitha.

She was murdered and her body was buried in a garbage pit within Vishnu's compound following the 'Drishyam' movie model and her remains were wrapped in plastic. There were plans to construct a bathroom above the burial site.

Sujitha, a Kudumbashree worker and a temporary employee at Krishi Bhavan and Vishnu who worked temporarily in the employment section of the nearby panchayat office were acquainted. He had borrowed money from Sujitha and he lured her by promising to repay it. Father Muthu was aware of the murder and was also involved in destroying evidence.

After concealing the body under a bed, the stolen gold ornaments were sold at a jewellery shop in Thuvvur and the proceeds were divided among the perpetrators. The burial took place at midnight. The body was exhumed yesterday and a post-mortem examination was conducted. Sujitha's son, Vivek Krishna is an 8th standard student.

The call that reached Sujitha's phone shortly before her disappearance was from Vishnu. Police also found that Sujitha's phone was turned off in the vicinity of his house. Additionally, it was revealed that there was no evidence of Sujitha leaving the area according to CCTV footage.