Vyalikaval murder: Police team return from Odisha after collecting evidence

BENGALURU: The Bengaluru police team which went to Odisha to trace the accused in the gruesome Vyalikaval murder case, Mukti Ranjan Roy, has returned with a lot of evidence, including individual statements, blood samples, and fingerprints from his residence.

The fingerprint and blood samples found at the crime scene have been matched with Ranjan’s fingerprints, confirming his involvement in the murder. The primary report on the post-mortem reveals many things. The police have obtained court permission to collect Ranjan’s mobile phone, fingerprints and blood samples. Ranjan’s mobile phone is expected to reveal crucial information about his connection with the victim, Mahalakshmi. The phone records will indicate whether Ranjan made a call shortly before the murder or if anyone helped him in killing her.

The police are investigating whether anyone assisted Ranjan in the crime. Ranjan’s brother has already been questioned and his statement has been recorded under Section 164. The police are preparing a chargesheet incorporating all these findings, to be submitted to the court. Since the accused is deceased, the police will file an abated chargesheet since the murder accused himself committed suicide before the probe could be completed.

After killing Mahalakshmi,  Mukti Ranjan Roy went to his brother Shakti Ranjan Das’ house and narrated the incident. After that, he reached Tanur on his bike. He evaded the police for three days, covering over 1,550 km across three states — Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. He eventually returned to his hometown, Bonipur village in Bhadrak district.

When he found out that the police were looking for the killer, he revealed everything to his mother. He went out of the house the next morning and committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree.

According to Roy’s suicide note, he had purchased two knives and a hacksaw blade from Malleswaram on September 3 and used them to chop Mahalakshmi’s body. He cut up her body into 59 pieces and cleaned the bathroom with acid to remove bloodstains.

Mahalakshmi had allegedly been demanding money from the accused’s brother, and threatening him. She got a gold chain, three finger rings and a mobile forcibly from Mukti Ranjan. He had stopped sending money to his parental home because of her, which allegedly led to the murder.

The killer committed suicide, fearing being caught by the police. It came to light that Mukti Ranjan Roy had committed suicide when the police reached the village of Bonipur near Bhadrak of Odisha. He had written a suicide note before his death.