SIT formed to crack the case finally finds the two locals the deceased had last met when she had gone alone to Kovalam beach in Kerala
The boat that was tied close to where the woman's body was found
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Two men have been arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Kerala police in the murder of the 33-year-old Latvian in March. The accused - Umesh, 28, and Udayan, 24 - go by their first names and are locals, who live close to Kovalam beach where the woman's body was found. They have numerous cases registered against them with the police.
Case cracked by SIT
On May 1, mid-day had reported about the cops close to solving the case (Latvian woman murder: Cops closing in on killers). Speaking to mid-day, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Fort) J K Dinil, confirmed the arrest and said, "It is sheer coincidence that while the victim's highly decomposed mortal remains were laid to rest by her sister in our area on Thursday, we arrested the two accused.
"The accused are antisocial elements, druggies, notorious in the area. Umesh, who did odd jobs (such as catering and plucking coconuts), was a school dropout and has 13 cases against him for petty offences, including causing grievous hurt; Udayan has six cases against him."
What happened
According to another officer part of the SIT, "The day the woman went missing, she had reached Kovalam around 8.30 am and was walking on the beach, when the two accused spotted her. They approached her and told her they would show her around. They then offered her weed and took her to an isolated spot.
"Once they reached the location, a little after 9 am, the woman, who was already under the influence of drugs by then, was repeatedly raped by the two accused. By evening, when she wanted to return to the centre where she was being treated for depression, they insisted that she stay with them. An altercation broke out and the accused strangulated her. They then tried to make it look like a suicide.
Confident of not being caught
Dinil said, "Post the murder, the accused continued to live in the same locality as they were confident no one would reach the crime spot." Dinil added that the biggest reason for the accused not to flee from their village was that when the police flashed the photograph of the missing woman, no one from Kovalam or neighbouring areas could identify her. These two were the only people to spot her walking on the beach.
However, when the body was identified, the accused started following media reports closely but were still confident they would not be arrested, as the body was highly decomposed by the time it was found.
Repeat offenders
When asked about the many offences registered against the accused, the officer said, "As these were petty offences, the matter would get resolved amicably between parties and settled out of court."
On the slipper and jacket found at the crime scene, which the sister of the deceased said did not belong to the victim, the police said, "We are yet to ascertain the evidence."
Enough evidence
Meanwhile, the police will be producing the accused in court on Friday and seeking their custody. "We've gathered enough circumstantial and scientific evidence to nail the accused, and are confident they will be convicted," the officer said.
State Director General of Police Lokanath Behara has already lauded the SIT for its detection work and has announced a reward for the team that cracked the case under tremendous pressure. Attempts made to contact the deceased's sister did not yield result.
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