KOLLAM: The two accused in the brutal Anchal murder case were arrested on Saturday, almost 18 years after the crime took place. Anchal resident Dibil Kumar and Kannur resident Rajesh were arrested by CBI from Pondicherry on Saturday. Both are former Indian army officials in the Pathankot unit. A bounty of Rs two lakh was announced earlier for people giving information about the two accused.

The incident took place in 2006. A charge sheet was filed in the case in 2021. In February 2006, Ranjini, an unmarried woman from Anchal, and her two children were brutally killed. Police and CBI confirmed the involvement of these two soldiers in the crime. However, the duo evaded arrest and never reached their army camp again. It was thought that they had fled the country and settled somewhere else.

However, the Chennai unit of CBI received information about them last week. The accused were arrested during the subsequent investigation. Both got married using a different identity and were settled in Tamil Nadu. The accused were running an interior design establishment. They were produced in the court in Kochi.

Dibil Kumar had two children with Ranjini. But Ranjini's family had filed complaints against Dibil Kumar regarding the paternity of those children. The Women's Commission also suggested to check the children's DNA. The police say that at this time Dibil Kumar and Rajesh came to the house, and in an attempt to destroy all evidence, they killed Ranjini and the two kids. All three were killed by slighting the throat.