Latvian tourist was drugged, raped and murdered: Kerala DGP

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The police on Thursday recorded the arrest of two men in connection with the rape and murder of a Latvian tourist whose body was found from a mangrove at Panathura near Kovalam two weeks ago.
State police chief Loknath Behera said the woman was drugged, raped and murdered.

The two accused, Umesh (28) and Udayan (24), both residents of Panathura, are habitual offenders and have been involved in criminal cases, including cases under the NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act. Umesh has been involved in 13 cases and Udayan in six.

Behera said the accused met the Latvian woman when she reached Kovalam from Pothencode on March 14. The rape and subsequent death too happened on the same day. The accused allegedly lured her by offering drugs and took her to the mangrove forest. They raped her and when she resisted, they murdered her by strangulation, he said.

"The case was a homicide and it was unfortunately brutal. It should not have happened to any women," the DGP said adding that it was not proper to divulge more details of the assault as the police were yet to a file a report before the court.

"The accused tried to make it look like a suicide. But our officers proved them wrong," Behera said adding that the police have also collected significant scientific evidences against the accused, though initially the investigation was mostly based on circumstantial evidences.

The accused will be produced before the court on Friday.

IG (Thiruvananthapuram) Manoj Abraham said it was tough to find evidences as the woman's decomposed body was recovered more than 30 days after her death.

"But we were able to collect some relevant evidences from the spot that helped us recreate the crime and identify the perpetrators," Abraham said.

The IG added that the police had taken as many as 12 people into custody on suspicion and had questioned them. They zeroed in on the two accused by eliminating others after several rounds of questioning.

The two accused have been charged under Sections 302 (murder), 376 (rape) and 20(b) of the NDPS Act.

The state police chief has also announced the badge of honour for detective excellence for all the officers involved in the investigation.