Four members of a family, including a six-year-old girl, were found murdered in their home in Begur village in Ponnampet taluk, Kodagu, Friday. Police suspect they were killed in their sleep.
All four were lying in a pool of blood when police reached their home following an alert by residents. The victims — Naagi, 32, her daughter Kaveri, and her parents Kariya, 74, and Gowri, 70 — were killed using a billhook machete, which has been recovered.
Gowri and Kariya lived in Begur village for over five decades and owned a one-acre coffee plantation. They also worked as labourers at a coffee estate.
Fight over coffee plantation probably led to murders
Naagi’s husband, Girish, 38, was missing after the incident. Villagers informed police that Naagi left her daughter at her parents’ house in Kodagu.
On Thursday, Girish visited his in-laws’ house with Nagi, possibly to discuss the coffee stored at home. Sources claimed Girish, a habitual drinker, may have been involved in a family dispute over the coffee crop, which could have ended in the murders.
Thalappuzha police in Wayanad arrested Girish from his native village in Athimala. “Kodagu police sought our help to nab the accused. We conducted a search, nabbed Girish when he reached his village around 5pm,” said an officer at Thalappuzha station.