Alappuzha: A year after the gruesome murder of Jalaja Suran, 47, a homemaker from Haripad, the Crime Branch (CB) has offered Rs 2 lakh reward to informers. She was found dead on August 14 midnight last year at her residence. She was living alone in her house with her husband and children working abroad. Soon after the murder, the local police launched an investigation collecting scientific evidence including fingerprints of some 600 suspects. But none matched and the investigation got stuck halfway.
Crime branch DySP K.C. Baburaj said many suspects were quizzed and scientific evidence collected, but nothing led to the killers. He requested to contact IG Balram Kumar Upadhyay on 9497998998, KG Simon, SP, 9497996949 and him on 9497990196, if anyone gets a clue. DySP K.S. Udayabhanu (then circle inspector, Haripad, who led the initial probe), said they had verified some 12,000 phone calls passed through the local tower in that night. “But we couldn’t find any clue," he said.
The police prima facie had deduced that it was murder considering the manner in which the body was brutalised. The corpse had 12 deep cuts head thrashed. Three gold bangles and a chain with mangal sutra were missing. She was living in Bengaluru for years with her children settled there. She came to Nangiarkulangara only a few weeks before the incident. However, the local people still smell foul in the investigation.
Following people's agitation, the then DGP T.P. Senkumar himself had paid a visit to the crime spot. Since the incident took place in the constituency of then home minister Ramesh Chennithala, the CPI (M) organised a protest march in Nangiarkulangara before the Assembly elections, and the Congress leader issued an order seeking CBI probe in March. But the CBI has not taken up the case so far. The aggrieved family, her husband Suran and two children, all NRIs, are waiting for the outcome of the investigation.
