Charred stays, cast paperwork: puzzle behind two disappearances

The Crime Branch (CB) workforce probing the disappearance of a lady from Ettumanur in Kottayam has arrested a 68-year-old man from Pallipuram, close to Cherthala. The arrested has been recognized as Sebastian. Earlier this week, investigators recovered charred human stays from the premises of Sebastian’s home at Pallipuram.

Officials mentioned efforts are on to establish the stays via DNA testing. Investigators consider the stays are these of Jain Mathew (Jainamma), 55, who went lacking from Ettumanur on December 23, 2024. Both Jain and Sebastian had been reportedly recognized to one another for a number of years. The probe workforce situated Sebastian’s home at Pallipuram primarily based on Jain’s cell phone location information from the time of her disappearance.

Jain reportedly left her house to attend a prayer assembly in Pala. After she did not return house, her household filed a police criticism on December 28, 2024. The case, initially investigated by the native police, was later handed over to Crime Branch, Kottayam. Though the police interrogated Sebastian in May 2025, he denied any involvement within the girl’s disappearance. On July 28, the police dug up the premises of Sebastian’s home and recovered human stays.

Sebastian can be a suspect within the disappearance of one other girl, Bindhu Padmanabhan, 46, from Kadakarappally greater than a decade in the past. Though the recovered physique components haven’t been conclusively recognized, investigators consider they’re probably these of Jain and never Bindhu.

Back in May 2018, the police launched an investigation primarily based on a criticism by Bindhu’s brother Praveen Kumar, stating that his sister, who owned belongings value crores of rupees, had gone lacking underneath mysterious circumstances just a few years in the past. The complainant alleged that some actual property brokers had taken possession of her belongings after forging paperwork.

The probe revealed that Sebastian and one other particular person, T. Mini, alias Jaya, had bought belongings owned by Bindhu after forging paperwork. According to the police, an influence of legal professional was registered on the sub-registrar workplace, Pattanakkad, in 2013. Mini had signed the papers posing as Bindhu. Following this, a property owned by Bindhu value ₹5 crore was bought to a Changanassery native, who later resold it to a different particular person.

As the investigation progressed, Mini surrendered earlier than a neighborhood court docket, whereas the police arrested Sebastian in reference to doc forgery and unlawful land offers. Though Sebastian was questioned about Bindhu’s whereabouts, it yielded no outcomes. He was later launched on bail. Further deepening the thriller, a 47-year-old man, who had been known as for questioning in reference to the case, was discovered useless at his house in June 2018.

Earlier this yr, a neighborhood court docket in Alappuzha rejected a plea by the CB workforce investigating Bindhu’s disappearance, which sought permission to conduct a polygraph take a look at on Sebastian. With his latest arrest, investigators have expressed hope that they could get a lead within the Bindhu case.