The Crime Branch (CB) team probing the disappearance of Bindhu Padmanabhan, 52, from Kadakarappally in Alappuzha has filed a report before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court- 1, Cherthala, stating that she was murdered by C.M. Sebastian, 68, of Pallippuram.
The CB recently booked Sebastian, who has been in remand for nearly two months in connection with the murder of another woman, Jainamma (Jain Mathew), from Ettumanur, under Section 103 (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in the Bindhu case.
According to the CB report, Sebastian confessed to murdering Bindhu during questioning in connection with the Jainamma murder case. Sebastian, who was produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in the Bindhu murder case earlier this week, has been remanded in police custody till September 30.
The probe team is expected to take him to various places as part of evidence collection.
The investigation into the Bindhu case regained momentum after Sebastian’s arrest in the Jainamma murder case two months ago. Sebastian had earlier failed to cooperate with the investigation into the disappearance of Bindhu. In May 2018, the police launched a probe based on a complaint by Bindhu’s brother, Praveen Kumar, stating that his sister, who owned assets worth crores of rupees, had gone missing under mysterious circumstances a few years ago. He also alleged that some real estate brokers had taken possession of her assets after forging documents.
Assets sold
The investigation revealed that Sebastian and another person T. Mini, alias Jaya, had sold assets owned by Bindhu after forging documents. According to the police, a power of attorney was registered at Pattanakkad sub-registrar’s office in 2013, with Mini signing the papers posing as Bindhu. Following this, a property owned by Bindhu worth ₹5 crore was sold to a Changanassery native, who later resold it to another person.
As the investigation progressed, Mini surrendered before a local court, while police arrested Sebastian in connection with document forgery and illegal land deals. Though Sebastian was questioned about Bindhu’s whereabouts, it yielded no results. He was later released on bail.
Besides the Jainamma and Bindhu cases, Sebastian is also under investigation in connection with the disappearance of another woman, Ayesha, from Varanad in Cherthala.
Published – September 25, 2025 05:41 pm IST
