Kochi: The police team investigating the case in which the decaying body of an old woman was found in a marshy land in North Paravur took into custody the woman's younger son on Monday. The deceased was identified as Kanchana Valli, 74, a widow and mother of two sons, who is a resident of Kedamangalam near Kudiyakulangara temple.
The North Paravur police are yet to record the arrest of the accused who is being interrogated by a team led by circle inspector R. Shabu. According to the police, the accused S. Suresh is suspected to have killed his mother and abandoned her body in a swamp near their house. They said that Suresh is an alcoholic, and he might have killed Valli in a drunken brawl.
Police said that prima facie, it is a clear case of murder. "We are yet to get a clear idea of how he killed her and the reason behind the crime," they said.
The victim's husband died a few years ago and since then she was staying alone in the house. Her elder son is staying with his family separately.
According to police, Suresh was accused in several assault cases. "The neighbours said that frequent fights occurred between Suresh and Valli whenever he reached the house. We suspect that one such fight ended up in the murder," they said.
It was on Sunday evening that some of the residents spotted the body in the marshy land near to Valli's house.
It was difficult to dig out the body from the deep slush in the area on Sunday night.
Moreover, only the head and hands of the body were visible on the surface.
The body was exhumed by the police around 11a.m. on Monday. Officials said that she might have died at least three days earlier as the outer skin has been completely decomposed.
The body is kept at Ernakulam Medical College hospital mortuary for postmortem on Tuesday.
