A missing person investigation in Kerala's capital took a grim turn on Monday evening when the body of 17-year-old school student Abhiram M.D. was discovered tied inside a sack at a deserted spot in Pangappara. The Plus Two (Class 12) student had been missing since Sunday afternoon. Investigators have taken three people into custody in connection with the killing, including a 17-year-old boy, a girl, and an adult with a prior criminal background.
Departure After Phone Call and Frantic Search
Abhiram, a resident of Thiruvananthapuram, had left his home on Sunday afternoon after informing his family members that he was going to Pangappara to meet a friend. He had also received a telephone call shortly before stepping out of the house. However, concern mounted when he failed to return home late into the night. Repeated attempts by his family to reach him failed as his mobile phone remained continuously switched off, prompting them to approach the Sreekaryam police station to lodge an official complaint.
Following the complaint, law enforcement authorities registered a missing person case and initiated an immediate search operation. Investigators questioned close friends of the teenager, examined local closed-circuit television camera footage, and tracked mobile network tower locations to trace his exact movements prior to his disappearance. The technical tracking led police search teams on Monday evening to an isolated and quiet area in Pangappara, where they discovered the teenager's body concealed inside a sack.
Familiar Gathering Spot and Friends' Suspicion
The secluded spot where the body was dumped was already familiar to the deceased teenager and his circle of friends, who frequently used the area as a place to hang out. When Abhiram went missing on Sunday night, some of his friends suspected that he might have gone to this specific spot, and they had even conducted searches in the surrounding vicinity during the night in an attempt to locate him before the police discovery.
Instagram Lure and Strangulation With a Belt
Preliminary findings from the ongoing police inquiry suggest that the killing stemmed from a dispute involving a girl and an alleged romantic relationship. Investigators suspect that the 17-year-old male suspect was close to a girl with whom Abhiram had also been communicating through social media platforms.
Police suspect that the accused youth gained access to the girl's Instagram account to send messages to Abhiram, luring him to come to Pangappara for an in-person meeting. Once Abhiram arrived at the designated location, he was allegedly attacked and strangled to death using a belt. In a desperate attempt to conceal the murder and evade detection, the perpetrators packed his body into a sack and abandoned it in the desolate terrain.
Detention of Three Suspects Including a History-Sheeter
To eliminate evidence, external assistance was allegedly sought to dispose of the body. Among the three individuals taken into custody are the 17-year-old boy, the girl, and an adult identified as Umar. According to police records, Umar has an established criminal history and is a listed history-sheeter. Investigators suspect that Umar played an active role in helping the suspects pack and dispose of the body in the sack at the secluded site. Sreekaryam police are continuing their custodial questioning of all three detainees to reconstruct the complete timeline of the crime.
