The police have arrested a 17-year-old boy for allegedly assisting the prime accused in the murder of a 66-year-old woman at Attayampathy, near Kozhinjampara, in Palakkad. According to the police, the juvenile was involved in the crime from the planning stage through its execution.

The boy has been sent to a Juvenile home. The prime accused, Udayakumar, 19, a neighbour of the victim, was arrested on Saturday.

The police said the victim, Sarasal, who lived alone at Kozhinjampara, was murdered on June 10 during a robbery. The accused allegedly burned her body and buried the remains behind Udayakumar’s house.

Sarasal had been missing since June 10. A month-long investigation led the police to suspect her neighbour, Udayakumar, who had also been away from the locality for some time.

Sarasal’s children, Ravi and Baby, live in Tamil Nadu. Baby’s son, Karthik, used to deliver food to Sarasal every morning. He last served her food on June 10. When he returned the following day, he found the front door open and the food delivered the previous day untouched. He then alerted the family, following which a missing person complaint was lodged with the police.

During interrogation, Udayakumar allegedly confessed to killing Sarasal at around 11 a.m. on June 10. The police said the accused robbed her of her gold nose ring and cash before burning the body in a metal drum inside the bathroom. The partially burned remains were later placed in a sack and buried behind Udayakumar’s house.

On Saturday, the police exhumed the remains and sent them for post-mortem examination.

Published - July 12, 2026 08:41 pm IST