Assam native arrested for murder of businessman and wife in Kottayam

KOTTAYAM: An Assam native, who allegedly murdered a businessman and his wife here, was arrested from Thrissur on Wednesday morning.

Amith Urang, 24, from Pithagutty in Dibrugarh district, Assam, was arrested from a poultry farm at Mala in Thrissur district around 8.30am, said police. He allegedly murdered Vijayakumar (64), who owned Indraprastham auditorium, and his wife Dr Meera Vijayakumar (60) around 9.30am on Tuesday.

Urang was Vijayakumar's staff member, who worked in his house and auditorium, said police. He was dismissed from his job due to misconduct. After being dismissed, Urang resorted to online fraud and swindled around Rs 2.75 lakh from two accounts of Vijayakumar. Based on Vijayakumar's complaint, Urang was arrested and remanded.

He came out on bail earlier this month, said police. The accused confessed that he murdered the couple as revenge for complaining against him for stealing Vijayakumar's mobile phone and swindling money, police said.

Urang's attempt to remove numbers in the Google account of Vijayakumar's phone and a call he made from another phone stolen from the house helped police trace him. Fingerprints on the axe used for the murder and CCTV visuals helped police nab Urang.

After the murder, Urang fled to his friend, who was working at a poultry farm in Meladoor in Mala, by bus from Kottayam. After Urang was arrested, police seized 11 phones from him, including those he stole from Vijayakumar's house.

Police found that Urang was staying at a lodge near Kottayam railway station from Saturday with the intention of taking revenge. The lodge manager informed police that a migrant worker staying at the lodge had gone out on Monday night and returned in the wee hours of Tuesday. The manager had spotted blood stains on his shirt and he soon vacated the room. Police checked the CCTV visuals at the lodge and confirmed it to be Urang.

Meanwhile, Urang was interrogated in Kottayam. After a medical examination, he was taken to the house to gather evidence. The DVR, which had gone missing, of the CCTV in Vijayakumar's house was found in a canal near the house.

Urang described to police how he murdered the couple. After 10pm on Monday, he jumped over the compound wall of Vijayakumar's house and unscrewed a window to create a gap through which he unlocked the main door to enter the house. He then killed the two using an axe kept in the outhouse.

Incidentally, the couple's son, Gautham, died under mysterious circumstances seven years ago. Their daughter, Gayathri, resides in the US. Gayathri was a member of the research team of Jennifer A Doudna, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020. Gayathri is expected to arrive on Friday. Funeral will be held after that.