Younger brother, uncle, girlfriend & more: How Kerala man went from house to house on killing rampage

It is a horror story like no other. A 23-year-old man in Kerala has confessed to killing six people, including his younger brother. The mass murder has sent shockwaves across the southern state.

Walking into the Venjaramoodu police station in Thiruvananthapuram rural district on Monday (February 24), Afan reportedly told the police: “I have come after killing five or six persons.”

As the police probed his claim, they unravelled a grim story of mass murders.

Let’s take a closer look.

Kerala mass murder

Afan went on a killing spree, attacking his relatives and girlfriend. As per an Indian Express report, he first attacked his mother Shemy, a cancer patient, at his house in Perumala village.

Police say he strangled and bludgeoned his mother, leaving the house believing she was dead. However, she survived and was admitted to a hospital in a critical condition.

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The horror continued to unfold as Afan went from house to house on his bike, killing his loved ones. His other victims were not lucky enough to survive.

Afan’s next target was his 92-year-old grandmother. Afan headed to his paternal grandmother Salma Beevi’s house in Pangode, 16 kilometres away, and reportedly attacked her with a hammer. It was one of Salma’s daughters who found her mother in a pool of blood around 5.30 pm.

Social worker Shajahan Pangode told Indian Express. “I went to the house along with the police, who were initially clueless about the murder. There was no indication of any tussle.”

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The CCTV outside Salma’s house, which the police found on Tuesday, shows Afan arriving at her house just before 1 pm and leaving within 10 minutes.

The young man then headed to his uncle Latheef’s home, 10 km away from Salma Beevi’s residence.

Latheef, a 69-year-old retired CRPF officer, and his wife Sajitha Beevi, 59, were also brutally murdered. As per a Mathrubhumi report, Latheef was bludgeoned at least 20 times on his head. Sajitha was also cruelly beaten to death.

Pangode told Indian Express that someone wanted to inform Latheef about the attack on his mother, Salma, but he was not picking up calls after which his neighbour went to his house. “When Latheef’s neighbour went to the house, he saw Latheef and his wife Sajitha dead. We eventually came to know about Afan’s confessions,” the social worker said.

According to Indian Express, Afan later went to pick up his 19-year-old girlfriend Farsana, a first-year college student, from her home in SN Puram. He took her to his Perumala house where he killed her as well.

His last target was his 13-year-old brother Afsan, who was at school when Afan tried to kill their mother and murdered Farsana.

Afsan returned from school around 4 pm and went to his neighbour’s house after finding the gate locked. He returned soon and Afan let him in, feeding him hotel food. Later, he beat his brother to death with a hammer.

After the murders , Afan took an auto to the Venjaramoodu police station and surrendered.

“Afan then left again after locking the gate of the house. Police had to break open the gate. We found Afsan’s body in the drawing room. The mother was found in a critical stage in another room. But we never expected another body (Farsana’s) inside the house. After Afan claimed he had killed her, police searched again and found her body,” Nazar, a neighbour, told the newspaper.

What have police said?

The mass killings have rocked Kerala. The police are yet to determine a motive. They could not record Afan’s arrest as he was hospitalised at the Thiruvananthapuram medical college after claiming he had consumed poison.

There are reports of financial trouble in Afan’s family. His father, Abdul Raheem, who runs a spare parts shop in Saudi Arabia, incurred a financial liability there. He has not been able to return to his home for five years after the financial debt due to his business failure, reported Mathrubhumi.

Police said that Afan did a degree course but was unemployed.

As per Indian Express, South Zone Inspector General Shyam Sunder said on Tuesday, “We are yet to get a clear picture about what provoked these murders. The accused had to be hospitalised soon after his surrender as he consumed poison at the police station. We could not record his detailed statement. He spoke about a financial crisis but we have to verify everything. At this stage, the murders cannot be linked to his relationship with the woman (Farsana).”

Farsana’s family reportedly knew about her relationship with Afan and did not oppose it.

According to the IG Sunder, the accused has not shown any behavioural issues yet. “He used the same weapon to target all of his victims. The hammer has been recovered,’’ he said.

The police also said that there is “evidence of drug use” by Afan. A senior police officer revealed that the victims had severe injuries to their heads.

They say that there were attempts to open the cupboards at the paternal uncle Latheef’s house, but it was not known whether anything was missing.

‘Good-natured boy, loved his brother’

Afan’s neighbours and relatives are stunned by the revelations, filled with disbelief that he committed the murders.

They claim he was a “good-natured, mild-mannered and soft-spoken” person, as per the PTI news agency.

A woman who runs a tea shop near Afan’s home told a TV channel on Tuesday that the accused loved his brother and took care of him. “I cannot believe he did it. He was a good boy. There is not a single bad thing we can say about him. Saw his (accused) younger brother yesterday afternoon also. Did not know what had happened till the police arrived,” she was quoted as saying by the news agency.

With inputs from agencies