How a stray remark and an estranged daughter’s curiosity blew the lid off a murder disguised as a hit-and-run

Her curiosity not only blew the lid off the plot to disguise Pappachan’s murder as a hit-and-run case, but also led to the arrest of a banking professional three months later in August. Saritha, 45, allegedly hired a gang to kill Pappachan, a retired assistant general manager with BSNL, to hide all traces of her embezzlement from his Rs 76-lakh deposit at her financial institution.

Estranged from his family, Pappachan lived all alone in Kollam. His wife, a retired school teacher, lived almost 100 km away in Kottayam, while his son is in the Middle East and daughter in Uttar Pradesh.

Pappachan was riding his bicycle on a deserted stretch in Kollam on May 23, when he was hit by a car. He died in the hospital the next day. A hit-and-run case was registered and the police managed to track down the car by examining footage from several CCTV cameras along the route. Days later, car driver Animon, 44, surrendered before the police but was released on bail.

After the mourning period ended, Pappachan’s daughter visited the branch of Muthoottu Mini Nidhi Limited in Kollam where her father had an account to enquire about the alleged discrepancies in his finances. However, she did not receive a satisfactory response from branch manager Saritha.

“A branch employee hinted at misappropriation of Pappachan’s funds. Realising that a huge chunk of her father’s deposit was missing, the daughter filed a complaint over her concerns on his May 23 accident. We decided to reopen the case,” Kollam Assistant Police Commissioner (ACP) S Shereef, who led the probe in the case, told The Indian Express.

The police started by looking into the call detail records (CDR) of accused driver Animon, who was a history-sheeter. “Animon was in constant touch with one number since the second week of May. That number belonged to Saritha, the manager of the branch where Pappachan had a deposit. That got us wondering what business could a banking official possibly have with a history-sheeter,” says the officer.

Even as the police were investigating the link between Saritha and Animon, Pappachan’s family filed a complaint with the financial firm over “unexplained” transactions in his deposit account. A probe by the company revealed that Saritha had misappropriated Rs 25 lakh from Pappachan’s deposit account. Though she returned the amount immediately, she and branch executive K P Anoop, 37, were fired by the company on June 25.

Meanwhile the police discovered the link between Saritha and Animon. Saritha worked with another financial firm in Kollam five years ago and that firm had engaged Animon to help repossess vehicles from owners who had defaulted on loans. Saritha, who knew Animon since then, got in touch with him in May 2024.

According to the police, Pappachan was wealthy but “chose to live like a miser”. “Besides the deposit of Rs 76 lakh, he had also invested in the share market. Spending money did not bring him the happiness that building up his savings did. He lived like a miser. Instead of a vehicle, he chose to move around the city on a bicycle. At the time of his death, Pappachan was using a rope as a belt,’’ says a police officer.

Despite his sizable deposit at Sarita’s branch, which grew to Rs 76 lakh by early 2024, Pappachan suddenly realised that he was not earning any interest. Following his enquiry, a branch employee informed Pappachan that Saritha had taken four loans against his account. Despite her denials, Pappachan kept calling Saritha on the office landline and demanding answers regarding the discrepancy of nearly Rs 48 lakh in his deposit account.

Realising that Pappachan was in no mood to relent, Saritha decided to get rid of him. “She and the others at the firm were aware that Pappachan was estranged from his family. She assumed that his family was in the dark regarding his wealth and simply wanted to pocket his desposit. She never expected his daughter to turn up with questions on discrepancies in his deposit account,’’ says ACP Shereef.

According to the police, Saritha contacted Animon, a contract killer, in May, claiming that “Pappachan’s son” wanted to kill his father over a property dispute. The next day, Saritha introduced her branch executive Anoop as “Pappachan’s son” to Animon. A deal was struck for Rs 2 lakh and Animon was given an advance payment of Rs 20,000.

The meeting was followed by a few failed attempts by Animon’s gang to hit Pappachan’s cycle with an autorickshaw. Back at the branch, Saritha was under immense pressure from Pappachan, who was growing increasingly agitated over his missing funds. Police say she got so furious with Animon over his failed murder attempts that she reportedly told him “she had smart people at her disposal if he was incapable of executing the murder”.

To carry out the hit successfully, Animon borrowed a car from an acquaintance. At noon on May 23, branch executive Anoop called Pappachan on the phone and asked him to meet Saritha at a new location so they could discuss his financial issues over a cup of tea. As soon as Pappachan left on his bicycle, Anoop started tailing him on his motorcycle. Anoop also shared Pappachan’s location with Animon, who was waiting in the car. As soon as Pappachan reached a lonely stretch, Animon hit his bicycle from behind and ran him over before fleeing the spot.

One of Animon’s gang members was deputed as a lookout at the accident site. According to the plan, he rushed towards Pappachan as soon as he saw other locals run towards him. The gang member allegedly delayed first aid to Pappachan by insisting that only an ambulance should shift him to a hospital. He died in the hospital the next day, on May 24.

For Saritha, Pappachan’s death was just the beginning of more troubles. Laying low in Kochi, around 130 km from Kollam, after the murder, Animon and his gang started blackmailing Saritha. Instead of Rs 2 lakh for killing the octogenarian, the gang managed to extract nearly Rs 18 lakh from Saritha. Threatening to reveal the accident plot to the police, the man who had lent his car to Animon forced Saritha to pay him Rs 3 lakh in exchange for his silence.

After the investigation confirmed that Pappachan was killed under the guise of a hit-and-run, the police on August 8 arrested Saritha, her former colleague Anoop, Animon and two of his associates. All five accused belong to Kollam.