Representational image
| Photo Credit: Getty Images
The Karunagappally police have submitted a comprehensive chargesheet before the court in the Aluva Athul murder case, where the victim was hacked to death in broad daylight on a busy road.
According to the police, the gruesome murder was the fallout of a long-standing enmity between Athul’s group and an organised criminal gang operating out of the Thazhava Kadathoor region here. The timely submission of the chargesheet was made possible by an intense investigation spanning 87 days from the day the crime was committed.
In a strategic move to ensure that the accused currently in judicial custody do not secure statutory bail to walk free, the police prepared and presented the extensive document to the court well within the mandatory 90-day window.
Out of the 15 accused persons named in the chargesheet, the police had managed to track down 13 and arrest them within 24 hours of the crime, and subsequently produced them before the court. The 15th accused, who was booked for purposefully destroying critical CCTV footage from the location where the criminal conspiracy was hatched, has also been apprehended and included in the legal proceedings.
Scientific evidence
The chargesheet was put together based on solid scientific evidence and rigorous field investigation. As part of building an airtight case, the police prepared over 50 detailed site and recovery memos. Furthermore, the investigation team successfully tracked down and seized the vehicles used by the perpetrators to execute the crime, along with more than 100 separate pieces of material evidence, all of which were produced in court and subjected to forensic and scientific examinations to conclusively tie the suspects to the murder.
In addition to physical evidence, digital footprints played a decisive role in the breakthrough. The police meticulously scanned footage from more than 50 surveillance cameras situated at the crime scene and adjacent areas linked to the sequence of events. From these, around 15 critical CCTV clips were officially seized and preserved to serve as primary electronic evidence. This digital trail, combined with a detailed analysis of the mobile phone records of the accused and associated individuals, allowed investigators to collect proof and firmly establish the timeline of the conspiracy and execution.
Published – June 09, 2026 04:46 pm IST
