On Tuesday, a couple from Kerala and their three friends were found dead in a hotel room in Arunachal Pradesh’s Ziro town. Police said it appeared the three men had cut their wrists and bled to death, and a note was recovered from their hotel room.
The couple was identified as Ayurvedic doctor Naveen Thomas (35) and his wife Devi (35) from Kottayam district. The third person has been identified as Arya B. Nair (29), a school teacher and resident of Thiruvananthapuram.
The three arrived at the hotel on March 28 and have been sharing a room since then, said Keni Bagla, superintendent of police for Lower Subansiri district in Arunachal Pradesh.
On March 27, relatives of Arya, who is reportedly set to get married next month, filed a missing person report at Thiruvananthapuram police station. The Kerala police said that after investigating the complaint, it was found that Alia flew to Guwahati with Naveen and Devi, after which all three arrived in Arunachal Pradesh.
SP Keni Bagula said after the trio arrived at the Ziro hotel, hotel staff continued to see them moving around the premises until March 31.
“But on April 1st, (staff) had not seen anyone… On Tuesday (April 2nd) morning, staff tried to check on them. They first They called the room, but there was no answer. They then went to the room, but when they knocked, there was no response. When they knocked on the door, the lock was broken, and there they were. We found him dead and later informed the local police station around 10:30 am,” the SP said.
In Kerala, prominent cultural activist Surya Krishnamoorthy said on Tuesday afternoon that Devi’s father, travel photographer Balan Madhavan, had told her that the deceased had “fallen prey to black magic”. .
Krishnamoorthy, a relative of Balan Madhavan, said all three of the deceased were “well-educated and well-settled.”
“I spoke to Balan Madhavan and he said that they (the deceased) were victims of black magic… It is a tragedy that even highly educated people have fallen prey to black magic,” Krishnamoor said. Mr. Shi said.
The couple married 13 years ago and stopped practicing Ayurveda a year ago and started trading online, said Monichan Kizakkedam, president of Kottayam’s Meenadam panchayat, who is familiar with the family.
“Now we have learned that the couple was into black magic…The couple lived with their parents, who are retired civil servants, but Naveen did not interact much with the locals. For a short time, Devi taught German at a private school in Thiruvananthapuram, where she became friends with Arya,” Monichan said, adding that two of Naveen’s relatives arrived in Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday. He added that he was leaving for
Arunachal Pradesh police have registered a case of unnatural death. SP Keni Bagula said a note recovered from the room had a phone number written on it and instructions to make a call. Police called the number and were connected to the couple’s family.
“Their activities here are unknown. They were here as tourists. What they were doing here is a matter of investigation and we are investigating a case of unnatural death here. I have registered,” Bagla said.
