Two youths found buried in shallow grave in Kerala's Palakkad died due to electrocution: Police

The two missing youths, whose bodies were found in a shallow grave close to a paddy field in Kodumbu panchayat near here a day ago, appear to have died due to electrocution, police said on Wednesday.

Palakkad SP R Anand said that according to the inquest and the preliminary investigation, it appears the youths were electrocuted to death after coming in contact with a live wire trap laid for wild boars.

The top police officer of the district said that the landowner, who had set the trap, confessed to having buried the bodies to destroy evidence of what had happened.

''He has already been taken into custody and his arrest would be recorded soon,'' the SP told the media.

The officer said that the bodies were exhumed and identified as those of the two youths who went missing on Monday morning, and the remains have been sent for conducting post mortem.

''Based on the post mortem results and the doctor's report, further steps, including arrest of the landowner and the adding additional sections to the FIR, would be taken,'' he said.

Giving details of what had transpired, the SP said that four youths -- accused in an assault case -- were present in the Kodumbu area on Monday morning and on learning that police had arrived there looking for them, they split into two groups and ran away.

''We have CCTV footage of the youths coming this way and splitting off into two groups,'' the officer said.

Thereafter, once the two missing youths could not be found, their families got in touch with the police who came back to Kodumbu to search for them, he said.

However, hours before police reached the spot, the landowner came across the bodies, got scared and decided to destroy the evidence to save himself, police said.

When police reached the spot on Tuesday evening, they found the ground disturbed at one place and cordoned off the area. They also took the landowner into custody, the SP said.

On Wednesday, police came and exhumed the bodies, which were stacked one on top of the other in a 70 cm deep grave, the officer said.

He also told the media that the landowner, prior to burying the bodies, had cut open the bellies to prevent them from bulging during decomposition and coming out of the shallow grave.

''We are trying to find out if anyone else helped him in burying the bodies and destroying the evidence. He had taken away the electric trap and dumped it elsewhere,'' the officer added.

According to local residents of the area, some youths, who were accused in a recent minor assault case, were hiding out in Kodumbu on Monday and when police came in search of them, they fled the place.

An officer of Kasaba police station, who were investigating the assault case, said two members of the group had surrendered before them on Tuesday and claimed that two others were missing.

''We went back there to search for the other two, but could not find them. But we noticed the ground was disturbed in one place with the mud having been moved. As it was late at night, we could not examine the site any further,'' he said.

Local residents of the area also told the media that the reason for the incident was the alleged urgency shown by the police to nab the youth in connection with a minor case.