Thiruvananthapuram: Affan, the sole accused in the brutal murder of four relatives and his 22-year-old girlfriend in Kerala, fainted while in police custody on Friday morning and was rushed to a nearby government hospital.
A local court had granted police custody of Affan for three days. However, on Friday morning, he reportedly collapsed in the washroom of the police station where he was being held. He was taken to a hospital, but after a medical examination, doctors found no health issues, and he was sent back to custody.
The police had planned to take him for evidence collection on Friday when the incident occurred.
Affan faces charges for five murders and the attempted murder of his mother. However, the current investigation and remand proceedings focus on the killing of his grandmother.
According to police, Affan bludgeoned to death his 13-year-old brother, his grandmother, his father’s sister, and her husband Lateef, as well as his girlfriend, whom he brought home before murdering her.
Meanwhile, his father, Rahim, who had been working in Saudi Arabia for seven years, returned home last week. The police have recorded his statement.
Investigators have learned that Rahim’s business in Saudi Arabia collapsed, forcing him to borrow heavily from close relatives. The killings allegedly stemmed from mounting pressure to repay these debts. Police sources say Affan was enraged by the repeated demands for repayment and decided to eliminate those pressuring his family.
Regarding his girlfriend’s murder, Affan reportedly told police that he did not want to leave her behind, so he killed her as well.
Affan’s mother, who survived the attack, is currently recovering. However, she has not changed her initial statement to the police, claiming that she sustained her head injury from a fall — an explanation the police remain skeptical about.
(IANS)
