17-year-old student found murdered in Thiruvananthapuram; three taken into police custody

The disappearance of a 17-year-old school student from Thiruvananthapuram turned into a murder investigation after police recovered his body stuffed inside a sack from an isolated plot on Monday evening.

The victim, identified as Abhiram M.D., a Plus Two student and resident of Sangeetha Nagar in Pangappara, was allegedly murdered following a dispute reportedly linked to a romantic relationship.

Three people, including a 17-year-old boy and a girl, have reportedly been taken into police custody in connection with the crime. Another person identified as Umar, a history-sheeter who is suspected of having assisted in disposing of the body, is also among those in custody, according to official sources.

Abhiram reportedly left his house on Sunday afternoon after telling his family that he was going to Pangappara to meet a friend. Before leaving, he had received a phone call. However, he failed to return home even late into the night.

When repeated attempts to contact him failed and his mobile phone was found switched off, his family approached the Sreekaryam police and lodged a complaint.

The police subsequently registered a man-missing case and launched an investigation to trace the missing teenager. The investigators questioned Abhiram’s friends and examined CCTV footage and mobile phone tower location details to reconstruct his movements before he disappeared.

The investigation eventually led police to an isolated plot in Pangappara on Monday evening, where Abhiram’s body was discovered stuffed inside a sack

The location is believed to be familiar to the victim and his friends, who used to visit the area occasionally to spend time together. After Abhiram went missing, some of his friends reportedly suspected that he might have been taken to this location and searched the surrounding areas during the night.

Preliminary findings suggest that the murder may have stemmed from a dispute involving a girl and a suspected romantic relationship. It is suspected that the 17-year-old suspect was reportedly close to a girl with whom Abhiram had also been communicating through social media.

The police suspect that the accused used the girl’s Instagram account to send messages to Abhiram and persuade him to come to Pangappara. The victim was allegedly strangled by tightening a belt around his neck. After the murder, his body was allegedly placed inside a sack and abandoned in the isolated plot in an attempt to conceal the crime.

The victim was a Plus Two student at NSS Higher Secondary School, Paruthippara. Following the custody of the suspects, Abhiram’s relatives and local residents staged a demonstration outside the Sreekaryam police station. They accused the police of failing to promptly act on the parents’ complaint and prevent the murder.