The case involving the alleged abduction and murder of a 23-year-old Dalit man, Kevin Joseph, saw its trial begin at a sessions court in Kottayam on Thursday, 25 April. Reports say Kevin was killed because he had decided to marry 21-year-old Neenu despite opposition from her family due to his caste.
Key witness Anish, who is Kevin’s cousin, had identified seven of the 14 accused. Anish has also been abducted by the gang but had managed to escape.
Special prosecutor CS Ajayan brought to the court’s notice that all the 14 accused, including Neenu’s brother, Shanu Chacko, and father, were dressed in identical outfits and had similar haircuts in a deliberate attempt to confuse the witness, reports The News Minute.
“All of them had worn white clothes and they all dressed similarly. They had also cut their hair really short. Despite this, the key witness ended up identifying seven of the accused. However, he could not identify the others as their appearance confused the witness,” CS Ajayan told TNM.
Anish was reportedly able to identify Shanu Chacko and six others who had abducted him, but he could not identify the father.
In May 2018, a gang had allegedly broken into Kevin’s home, abducted him and held him hostage. They allegedly murdered him after he attempted to escape.
(With inputs from The News Minute)
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