T’puram: The city shadow police have arrested Anu Aju (27), the main accused in the murder of Akash , whose partially charred body was found in Kottayadi near Shucheendram in April.Aju, a resident of Valiyathura, was hiding in places like Chennai and Velamkanni. His wife Reshma and mother Alphonsa were earlier arrested by police. Another accused Jithu alias Jithin is in prison following a vehicle theft case.Jithin, Aju and Akash had become friends while serving jail sentence in a theft case. They had hatched a plan for stealing bikes once they were released from jail.The plan was Akash and Jithin would steal bikes and take them to a workshop run by Aju at Valiyathura. There they would install fake number plates and change the documents of the bike.However, their relationship strained when Akash demanded more money and threatened to divulge details about thefts to police. Following this Aju, Jithin and Reshma planned to get rid of Akash. He was summoned to Aju’s workshop where he was served beer mixed with a sedative.When Akash became unconscious he was tied to the chair and strangled to death. Later they took Akash's phone to Kollam bus stand and sent a message from the Facebook account of Akash saying that he was leaving for Pathanamthitta. Aju and others then took the body kept in the workshop in a car to Sucheendram and burnt it.They returned to the city and went on to live normal lives. The murder was committed on March 30. The police could identify the deceased with the help of a tattoo on the body. tnn

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