Sharing new details about the five shocking murders by a 23-year-old in Kerala, police have said that the man had run up a debt of Rs 65 lakh from 14 creditors and had initially planned to die by suicide along with his mother and brother. Officials also said that Afan had planned to kill himself after carrying out the murders and killed his girlfriend because he thought she would not be able to live without him
Afan killed his grandmother, paternal uncle and aunt, 13-year-old brother and girlfriend in three houses in and around Venjaramoodu, a suburb of Thiruvananthapuram, on Monday. He also tried to kill his mother, but she survived. After committing the murders, the 23-year-old walked into the Venjaramoodu police station and surrendered.
Afan’s father lived in Saudi Arabia and officials said the family was being harassed by creditors over the debt. They said Afan was upset that his grandmother and paternal uncle and aunt were not helping the family monetarily and when he realised that they would not be able to pay off the money they owed, he tried to convince his mother and 13-year-old brother to die by suicide with him.
His mother did not agree and Afan then decided that he would kill her and his brother before dying by suicide himself. After assaulting his mother, he left the house thinking she was dead and went to his grandmother’s home, where he killed her and stole a gold necklace.
Afan then went to the house of his paternal uncle and aunt and killed them too. He returned home, where his 13-year-old brother and girlfriend, Farsana, were present. Superintendent of Police KS Sudarshan said he killed his brother and then Farsana because he thought “she would be alone without him”.
‘Mental State Will Be Examined’
Mr Sudarshan said they will also investigate whether there were any other reasons for the killings, apart from the financial burden, adding that Afan’s behaviour had been unusual even after he had surrendered.
“Afan will be questioned in the presence of mental health experts and his mental state will also be examined. It does not seem like he had any animosity towards Farsana. He had also not told her about his mass suicide plan,” said the officer.
Parents’ Statement
Afan’s mother Shemina initially told the police that she had not been attacked by Afan and had fallen from her bed. “She was not aware of what her son had done after attacking her,” said an official.
Her husband, Rahim, who returned from Saudi Arabia after the murders, said in his statement to the police that he was not aware the family’s debts had risen to Rs 65 lakh. He said he knew that Afan had a debt of Rs 15 lakh, including a bank loan and a loan taken from a relative. The father said Afan had pawned a gold necklace owned by the girl to pay off that debt and he had sent Rs 60,000 to his son to get the necklace back.
(With inputs from SP Babu)