Complainant in Kerala’s partner-swapping scandal murdered, husband main suspect

A 26-year-old woman, who was a complainant in the sensational partner-swapping sex scandal of 2022, was found murdered under the Manarcad police station limits in Kottayam on Thursday.

Police said they suspected the husband of the victim behind the murder. The victim was identified as Kathiramoottil Juby, mother of two kids aged six and three. “The incident happened between 8 am and 11 am. The children had gone to a neighbouring house. On return, they found the mother in a pool of blood. Police were alerted by local people. Prima facie, it is suspected that her estranged husband was behind the murder. We have launched a search to trace him,’’ police said.

The woman was a complainant in a partner-swapping scandal, FIRs regarding which were registered at various police stations in Kottayam, Alappuzha and Ernakulam. At the time of the case in January 2022, she had been residing under Karukachal police limits and after the scandal broke out, the family moved to another location under the Manarcad police limits. The victim had complained to the local police last year that her husband was forcing her to sleep with other men. Police probe into the complaint had revealed that scores of couples were part of the partner-swapping racket, which operated on social media.