Ex-Armymen Who Killed Kerala Woman And Her Twin Infants 19 Years Ago Arrested In Puducherry

Fearing that a paternity test would confirm he was the father of a 24-year-old woman's twin daughters, just 17 days old, an Armyman allegedly murdered her and the infants with the help of a fellow soldier.

The two men then went into hiding, deserting the Army, marrying, and starting families, managing to evade capture for an astonishing 19 years-until a tip-off led to their arrest.

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The case dates back to 10 February 2006, when 24-year-old Ranjini and her newborn daughters were found murdered in their rented home in Yeram near Anchal in Kerala's Kollam district. Ranjini's mother discovered the bodies upon returning from the panchayat office, where she had gone to obtain the twins' birth certificates.

Investigations revealed that Dibil Kumar B, a 28-year-old native of Anchal and a soldier in the Indian Army's 45 AD Regiment in Pathankot, had been in a relationship with Ranjini. However, following the birth of the twins on 24 January 2006, he began distancing himself from her.

The unwed mother sought help from the Kerala State Women's Commission, which ordered a paternity test to determine the twins' father. This enraged Kumar, who allegedly began planning her murder.

According to CBI officials, Rajesh P, then 33 and a colleague of Kumar's in the same Army regiment, befriended Ranjini and her mother, promising to help persuade Kumar to marry her. Instead, he allegedly conspired with Kumar to kill her and her daughters.

Manhunt

Kumar and Rajesh fled after the crime and were declared deserters by the Army in March 2006.

Despite thorough investigations by local police and a reward of Rs 2 lakh for information leading to their arrest, the two men remained at large.

In 2010, the Kerala High Court handed the case over to the CBI, but the agency also struggled to make progress.

New Lives

After years of evasion, the CBI received a tip-off that Kumar and Rajesh were living in Puducherry under assumed identities, having obtained forged documents, including Aadhaar cards. Both had reportedly married local schoolteachers and fathered children.

Following surveillance operations, the CBI's Chennai unit arrested the two men on Friday and brought them to Kochi. They were produced before the Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on Saturday.

The suspects have been remanded in police custody until January 18, and the CBI is expected to seek an extension of their custody.