Auto driver's murder: Crime Branch plans poly test on suspect

KOTTAYAM: A suspect  in the murder of an autorickshaw driver at Kallumkathara, 10 km from the town, on November 14, 2011, will be subjected to polygraph test at the Forensic Sciences Laboratory, Thiruvananthapuram. The hurt and homicide wing of the Crime Branch, which is investigating the case,  planned the test on a native of Kallumkathara after failing to get any positive results from the  test on  two other persons of the place.  

“There were contradictions in the statements of the  person and we are sure that he has knowledge regarding the accused,” said Crime Branch sources. Auto driver Gopinatha Kurup was found murdered in his vehicle after an unidentified passenger hired his auto around 2.10 a.m. that day for a trip to Kallumkathara. The body with stab injuries  on the right side of the  neck and below the shoulders was found around 6 a.m. by a person of the locality. According to the post-mortem report,  the incident happened around 4.10 a.m.

The police recovered a ‘Chinese-made’ knife manufactured in New Delhi and distributed by an Ernakulam-based dealer, which the accused allegedly used to commit the act. The only other piece of evidence was a portion of a Malayalam newspaper published from Kannur  in July 2010. The Crime Branch team has verified thousands of phone calls from the place of the incident and questioned many persons, but there has been no breakthrough so far. The police believe that the murder was the result of a sudden provocation following arguments on the fare.