Kerala 'Suicide Pact' Killing: Suspect Remanded as Police Seek Custody in POCSO-Linked Probe

Overview

• The Koyilandy Judicial First Class Magistrate Court remanded Vaisakhan of Kozhikode to judicial custody on alleged murder and rape charges.
• Police said they will move a custody application to question him further after invoking POCSO provisions over suspected abuse since the victim was 16.
• Investigators allege he lured the 26-year-old to his Malikkadavu workshop on January 24 under a staged suicide pact and gave her a sedative-laced drink before killing her.
• The case was reclassified after officers sealed the site, preserved the CCTV hard drive, and gathered forensic evidence that contradicted his suicide claim.
• Probe reports indicate sexual assault occurred while the victim was hanging and after she was brought down, and the suspect later called his wife to take the woman to hospital.