Man found dead on Onam day: One taken into custody

Kochi: A day after a man was found dead under Elamakkara police station limits on Sunday morning, police on Wednesday said that prima facie the youth was murdered during a drunken brawl.

The case pertains to a 45-year-old man identified as Praveen being found dead at around 7am on Thiruvonam day. He was found dead close to a toddy shop located near a bridge along the route between Edappally and Marottichuvadu. He reportedly used to stay under the bridge. The deceased was found with injuries on his body.

Elamakkara police have taken a Kollam native into custody, but the police have yet to divulge more details as they suspect that more people are involved. Since the body was found with multiple injuries, police had been conducting an investigation by treating it as a murder. Police collected CCTV footage from the area and tracked down one of the suspects, the Kollam native, from near Tripunithura.

As per the FIR, the crime happened some time between Saturday evening around 5.30pm and Sunday morning around 7am. "The suspects seem to have had liquor together and the victim seems to have died due to injuries suffered during a brawl. As per our primary findings, there were more than two persons involved and an inquiry is ongoing," said a senior officer.

The officer added that an autopsy report is awaited to get clarity on how he died. The FIR was initially registered by Elamakkara police as an unnatural death. Police said that the FIR would be altered to invoke charges for murder.