Kochi: Sabu Mathai, a key witness in the sensational rape and murder of a Dalit woman in Perumbavoor and who was initially suspected by cops to be behind the attack, was found dead at his residence on Saturday. The 37-year old, who was the neighbour of the Dalit woman, was found hanging from the roof of his house at Kuruppampaddy at 12.30 noon. The cops said the preliminary probe pointed it was a case of suicide. A case of unnatural death was registered at the local police station.
Sabu had been arraigned as a mahazar witness in the case following recovery of a pair of footwear, suspected to have worn by the murderer, from a canal nearby his house. Cops initially suspected him to have role in the attack. They even took him into custody for 15 days and subjected him to gruesome interrogation. However, he was omitted from the trial proceedings at a later stage when the cops admitted to his “innocence”. The 30-year-old Dalit woman was found murdered at her house in Vattolippadi, nearly five km from Perumbavoor, on April 28, 2016.
