A woman member of a gram panchayat from Kerala’s Idukki district was arrested along with two aides for allegedly trying to trap her husband in a drug case. Her alleged lover, who now lives in Saudi Arabia, was also booked in the case on charges of conspiracy.
Police identified the main accused as 33-year-old Soumya Abraham, a member of Vandanmedu gram panchayat in Idukki district. Her aides were identified as Shanavas, 39, and Shefin Shah, 24. Police arrested all three on Friday for trying to falsely implicate 45-year-old Sunil Varghese in a narcotics case.
Police also booked a 43-year-old man Vinod, who is allegedly Soumya’s lover.
According to police, the accused tried placing MDMA, a psychoactive drug, in Sunil’s vehicle. On February 22, a team from Vandanmendu police station and district anti-narcotics special action force (DANSAF) under district police chief R Karuppaswamy took custody of Sunil’s two-wheeler after they seized MDMA in a search following a tip-off.
Police said they did not, however, get any lead into whether Sunil was using or selling any kind of drug. Investigating officers VA Nishad Mon, deputy superintendent of police Kattappana and inspector VS Navas then suspected that he might have been trapped, police added.
Police then held a detailed investigation and arrested the accused in 72 hours. They said preliminary investigation revealed Soumya, a mother of two, was planning to leave her husband and live with her boyfriend Vinod.
Police further said Soumya and Vinod became close after she won the 2020 local body elections as an independent backed by CPM from Achankaanam, the 11th ward in Vandanmedu gram panchayat, close to Tamil Nadu border. The two are neighbours, and Vinod is married with two children and residing in Saudi Arabia, police added.
During this period, police said, Vinod made frequent visits from abroad to meet Soumya. The duo made plans to avoid Sunil and start living together, they added.
Vinod initially had plans to eliminate Sunil in a car accident or poison him with cyanide but Sowmya did not want that for fear of being caught, police said. A month ago, Vinod had also booked a room at a luxury hotel in Kochi and stayed there for two days with Soumya, they added.
Soumya told police that it was Vinod who came up with the idea of a narcotics case and she found it suitable. She said they planned to trap Varghese under Section 22B of the NDPS Act, which involves rigorous imprisonment for a term not less than 10 years and may be extended to 20.
According to the plan, she said, Vinod and Shanavas handed over the MDMA they received from Shah to Soumya at a place called Aamayar near Vandanmedu on February 18. Police said Vinod paid Rs 45,000 for the drugs and Soumya later placed that in her husband’s two-wheeler. She sent a photo to Vinod, who had gone to Saudi Arabia, police added.
After Vinod informed Shanavas and Shah, they informed police through various sources and leaked the matter. Police then found 5 gm MDMA from the storage above the fuel tank of the two-wheeler belonging to Sunil.
Police said they will be issuing a look-out notice to get Vinod back from the Gulf country.
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