Kerala: Man buried in pit, his wife and estate manager missing

Idukki: A 31-year-old man from Santhanpara in Idukki – who was missing since October 31 – was found buried in a pit on Thursday morning. The body of Mulloor Rijosh, a worker at a farm house, was found burnt and buried near a private resort at Puthadi near Santhanpara. In the evening, Kuzhikandathil Wasim, manager of the resort where Rijosh’s wife Liji works, sent a video to his brother, saying he had killed Rijosh.

Wasim’s brother then gave the video to police.

Wasim and Liji (29) were reported missing since November 4. Liji was working at Mushroom Hut in Puthady for past six months; Wasim, a resident of Irinjalakuda in Thrissur, was the manager there for the past four years.

On November 4, Liji filed a complaint with Santhanpara police that Rijosh was missing. She also gave a statement that Rijosh called her over the phone from Kozhikode and Thrissur after he went missing. But, residents suspect that her statement was false.

Residents told police about an earthmover deployed to cover a pit near the resort. Police then questioned operator of the earthmover who said he was contracted by Wasim to cover a pit. The operator said he was told by Wasim that an animal was buried in the pit and he had to dump more earth to contain the stink.

On Wednesday, police removed the mud from the pit and found the body of Rijosh with burn marks in a sack. The body was shifted to Kottayam Medical College Hospital. Apart from Liji and Wasim, her younger kid Joana is also missing.

Munnar deputy SP M Rameshkumar led the probe in the case. Police suspect that Wasim and Liji killed the youth and burnt his body and buried it in the pit.