Kochi barrel case: Cops to probe role of victim's daughter

Kochi: After cracking the case regarding the recovery of skeleton from a plastic drum filled with concrete mix, the special squad of Kochi Police is now probing whether the daughter of the victim, 54-year old Shakunthala, has any role in the episode. “We suspect her (Aswathy) to have aided killer Sajith in murdering Shakunthala. However, she denied the same during interrogations so far. Another round of questioning will be held tomorrow and thereafter we’ll also subject her to a polygraph test,” official sources said.

The cops are probing whether the immediate provocation for the murder is due to financial dispute between the mother and the daughter. The victim had nearly Rs six lakh in her account, mainly the money received by selling land and compensation received post the suicide of her son. However, the money was missing.

“We’ve got statements from neighbours stating that Aswathy used to quarrel with Sankunthala seeking a share of the money she had received as insurance claim and the income from the sale of a couple of properties,’’ they said. The barrel containing the skeleton was found adrift on the banks of Kumbalam lake on January 8 last. A sustained probe by the cops finally revealed that the body was that of Shakunthala and she was killed by one T M Sajith, a native of Eroor, who committed suicide, soon after the recovery of the skeleton.