IN what has come as a shocking incident, unheard of in the history of Kerala, a woman sweeper working in the Congress block committee office at Nilambur in Malappuram district was found dead in a pond in Chulliyod, near Nilambur. Two persons including a staff member of Aryadan Muhammed, the state minister of electricity, were arrested in connection with this barbaric incident. The victim was identified as Nilambur Kovilakathumuri Radha (49) who was cruelly raped and then strangled to death. Her body was packed in a gunny bag and the bag was thrown into the pond with a big stone tied to it. Radha, an unmarried woman, had been working in the Congress office for the last two and a half years. She is survived by two brothers and two sisters. B K Biju Nair (38), a member of Aryadan Muhammed’s personal staff, and his friend Shamsuddin (29), who were arrested by the police later, confessed that they had committed the crime on February 5 and kept the body in the Congress office for two days before disposing it off. Then the body was taken to Chulliyod in Shamsuddin’s car. The mobile phone of the victim was later found in Angadippuram, 44 kilometres away from Nilambur. Biju and Shamsudin confessed to have thrown it there. The body was found in a sack on Monday, February 10, by a mechanic who came near the pond to repair a motor. The sack was tied with an iron wire. The post mortem report found that the death occurred during the rape. A deep wound was also found on the victim’s vagina. Doctors said that she was killed after rape. Aryadan Muhammed said that he was ready to face any kind of enquiry. It is also notable that a preliminary probe into Radha’s killing has cast a shadow of doubt upon the role of the police and its version about the cause of death. While the preliminary post mortem report hinted at rape being the cause of death, the police sought to rule it out. According to the forensic sources, there were injuries to the private parts of the victim and that rape could have led to the death. They, however, said more forensic tests were needed to reach a definite conclusion as the body was in a decomposed stage. The internal organs have been sent for detailed chemical examinations. According to the police, the accused strangled Radha at the Congress office at about 9.30 a m on February 5 after she saw Biju in a compromising position with a girl in the office. The police said Radha had threatened Biju several times that she would tell the party leaders and also his relatives about his affair with a girl. Following this, Biju decided to finish her off and Biju and Shamsuddin strangulated her after she arrived at the office. CPI(M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan has demanded a thorough inquiry into the incident, including the possible involvement of big shots in it. The home department of Kerala is trying to hush up the case as an involvement of Congress leaders is being suspected. A CPI(M) Central Committee member and AIDWA leader, P K Srimathi, demanded that the newly appointed KPCC president V M Sudheeran must give his reaction to on this barbaric incident. One may note that while the latest case involved one of the personal staff of Aryadan Muhammed, staff members of some other ministers were found involved in similar cases earlier.