Six years after disappearance, skeletal remains of Kozhikode man found in wetlands
Follow TNM's WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links. In a significant breakthrough in a six-year-old missing case, Kozhikode police on Friday, September 12, recovered suspected skeletal remains of Vigil Velathipadikkal. Investigating officers unearthed teeth, sections of the jaw, and parts of the ribcage from the Sarovaram wetlands, where inspections had been ongoing for weeks.Along with the remains, investigators found boulders believed to have been used to submerge the body. The search, conducted in the presence of the accused, proved challenging as water nearly seven feet deep had to be pumped out of the marsh.The recovered remains will undergo DNA analysis to confirm identity, officers said.Vigil, a 29-year-old resident of Chungam, went missing on March 24, 2019. He was last seen leaving home with his mobile phone, which was later traced near the Sarovaram Bio Park. While the family had abandoned the search, police solved the mystery after revisiting the case. Earlier this month, DIG and Kozhikode City Police Commissioner T Narayanan directed authorities to solve the pending cases by forming special teams. The breakthrough came when two of Vigil’s friends — K K Nikhil (35) and C Deepesh (37) — were taken into custody. Interrogation revealed that Vigil allegedly collapsed after overdosing on heroin with them and another friend, Ranjith, who remains absconding.The panic stricken accused attempted to conceal his death by abandoning his bike and phone at a railway station parking area. Two days later, they lowered his body into the marsh with stones to weigh it down, police said.Police believe that months later, the trio returned to the site, retrieved some bones and performed an ‘asthi visarjan’ ritual at Varkala out of guilt. The accused face charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and destruction of evidence.Earlier this week, officials had recovered a shoe from the swamp identified by the accused as Vigil’s.
Follow TNM's WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.
IN a significant breakthrough in a six-year-old missing case, Kozhikode police on Friday, September 12, recovered suspected skeletal remains of Vigil Velathipadikkal.
Investigating officers unearthed teeth, sections of the jaw, and parts of the ribcage from the Sarovaram wetlands, where inspections had been ongoing for weeks.
Along with the remains, investigators found boulders believed to have been used to submerge the body. The search, conducted in the presence of the accused, proved challenging as water nearly seven feet deep had to be pumped out of the marsh.
The recovered remains will undergo DNA analysis to confirm identity, officers said.
Vigil, a 29-year-old resident of Chungam, went missing on March 24, 2019. He was last seen leaving home with his mobile phone, which was later traced near the Sarovaram Bio Park. While the family had abandoned the search, police solved the mystery after revisiting the case.
Earlier this month, DIG and Kozhikode City Police Commissioner T Narayanan directed authorities to solve the pending cases by forming special teams.
The breakthrough came when two of Vigil’s friends — K K Nikhil (35) and C Deepesh (37) — were taken into custody. Interrogation revealed that Vigil allegedly collapsed after overdosing on heroin with them and another friend, Ranjith, who remains absconding.
The panic-stricken accused attempted to conceal his death by abandoning his bike and phone at a railway station parking area. Two days later, they lowered his body into the marsh with stones to weigh it down, police said.
Police believe that months later, the trio returned to the site, retrieved some bones and performed an ‘asthi visarjan’ ritual at Varkala out of guilt. The accused face charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and destruction of evidence.
Earlier this week, officials recovered a shoe from the swamp, identified by the accused as Vigil’s.
