more-in Pambu Manoj, Kattunni and Kukku (Pranav), the three accused in the murder of Ranjith Johnson, the 41-year-old whose body was recovered from a waste dumping yard on the Tirunelveli-Nagercoil highway, will be produced before a magistrate on Sunday. They were taken into custody from Puducherry, brought to Kollam and their arrest was recorded around Friday midnight. Confessing to his crime, first accused Pambu Manoj revealed that he planned and executed the murder due to personal rivalry. “Manoj's wife had left him for Ranjith and Manoj had been plotting the murder for a long time. He even made a couple of attempts, but failed. Recently the wife had posted a photo with Ranjith in a social networking site, much to the embarrassment of Manoj. It’s said to be the sudden provocation behind the crime,” said an official. On August 15, Ranjith was abducted by a gang that also included a couple of his acquaintances, according to his family, which later a filed complaint with the Kilikolloor police. “From his home he was taken to second accused Kattunni’s place where he was beaten to death. From there the assailants took his body to Polachira ela and kept it under water for some time to ensure he was dead. Later the body was dumped near Tirunelveli and it was found on September 7,” he said. Mini, Kattunni’s partner who was with them when they were arrested, has been kept under surveillance. “So far the police have arrested seven persons in connection with the case. There will be more arrests since we are investigating the involvement of some others,” the official said. It was a shadow team, part of the investigating team, that played a key role in locating the culprits. Led by Sub-Inspector Vipin, the team members included Harilal, Baiju, Saju, Binu, Manikantan, Ribu and Sreeju. With the help of the cyber cell over 20,000 phone calls were traced as part of the investigation.

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