Police seek answers as investigation unfolds in mass murder in Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram Rural Police investigate brutal killings of five people, suspecting financial motives behind the violence.

The Thiruvananthapuram Rural Police are continuing to piece together the disturbing events that led to the brutal killings of five people, including a young boy, allegedly carried out by 23-year-old A.R. Affan.

The murders took place across three separate locations in a span of just eight hours, sending shockwaves through the community.

Nearly two days after the crime, the investigators were still unable to determine a clear motive behind the unprecedented violence in which Affan murdered four members of his family and his girlfriend, while severely injuring his mother, Shemi.

The post-mortem examinations of the deceased were completed on Tuesday at Government Medical College Hospital (MCH), Thiruvananthapuram.

The victims – Affan’s paternal grandmother, Salma Beevi, younger brother, Ahsan, uncle Latheef, aunt Shahida, and girlfriend Farsana – were all found to have suffered blunt force trauma, consistent with multiple hammer strikes to the head, face, neck and chest.

The victims were laid to rest on Tuesday. Affan’s family members were buried at the Thazhe Pangode Juma Masjid near Kallara, close to their ancestral home, while Farsana’s funeral was held at the Kattumurakkal Juma Masjid, near Chirayinkeezhu. Her body was brought to her father Sunil’s house in Puthur, Venjaramoodu, before the funeral.

Shemi’s condition remains critical in a private hospital in Venjaramoodu. While she briefly spoke with a relative and a local body member in the intensive care unit, the police have not been able to record her statement yet. During the brief interaction, Shemi asked about her son Ahsan and expressed a desire to see him. She has not been informed about the deaths of her family members, sources said.