Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 30 December 2024
Bambooflat Police on 29 December 2024, arrested four additional suspects in connection with Nisha Rani Murder Case during a search operation in Shoal Bay area of South Andaman. This development follows the earlier arrest of four suspects on 23 December, who were alleged to have direct involvement in the murder.
The four recently apprehended suspects include two individuals from Tamil Nadu and two from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The suspects from Tamil Nadu have been identified as Kannan Marappan, 36, a resident of Dharmapuri, and Saravanan Ramesh, 23, a resident of Krishnagiri. Among the Andaman suspects, one is a 17-year-old minor, categorised as a Child in Conflict with Law (CCL), whose identity cannot be disclosed. The other is Sheikh Haqib, 26, a resident of Valluvar Nagar, Bambooflat.
Acting on intelligence that four individuals carrying machete have been seen emerging from the Shoal Bay forest to procure food, the police launched a search operation in the dense jungle near the shoreline. Upon locating the suspects, the police attempted to detain them, but the group resisted arrest. According to the FIR filed at Bambooflat Police Station, the suspects tried to evade capture and shouted to each other, urging escape and even inciting an attack on the police.
During the operation, one of the suspects, Kannan Marappan, allegedly attacked a head constable twice with a machete. In response, the sub-inspector leading the operation fired a shot from his 9mm Glock pistol, aiming at Marappan’s leg to protect the head constable. However, the bullet accidentally struck the 17-year-old minor suspect in the leg instead.
The injured minor was immediately transported to the Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Wimberlygunj via a dinghy arranged by the police. Meanwhile, the other three suspects, including Marappan, surrendered after the gunshot and were taken into custody. All four suspects were subsequently handed over to PS Pahargaon for further investigation into their connection to the Nisha Rani murder case.
The two suspects from Andaman, the minor and Sheikh Haqib, had gone missing before being found with the Tamil Nadu suspects. However, the FIR filed by Bambooflat Police does not mention that the minor or Haqib seemed kidnapped by the suspects from Tamil Nadu, instead both of them were running and trying to evade arrest by the Police along with the other suspects.
The investigation centres around the murder of Nisha Rani, who was attacked near the main gate of her residence in Brichgunj, Sri Vijaya Puram, on the night of 21 December. The attack was described as brutal, with Nisha sustaining severe injuries to her head and hands, leading to her immediate death.
The motive for the murder remains unclear. However, the arrests have heightened speculation within the community. Six out of the eight suspects now in custody hail from Tamil Nadu, leading many to believe that the crime may involve contract killers. No official statement regarding this theory has been issued by the police.
The details of the Shoal Bay operation highlight the suspects’ intent to resist arrest. According to the details in the FIR, the suspects may have been hiding in the forest for several days, occasionally emerging to procure food. The confrontation occurred in the forest near the shoreline, where they were discovered by the police. The suspects’ aggressive behaviour and the subsequent attack on the head constable forced the sub-inspector to take defensive action, which inadvertently injured the minor.
Despite the arrests, many questions remain unanswered. The involvement of the two Andaman suspects with the Tamil Nadu group remains a mystery. The circumstances leading to their association and the nature of their roles in the crime are expected to be clarified as the investigation progresses.
The brutal murder of Nisha Rani has left the community in shock, and residents are demanding clarity and swift justice.
For now, the police have not released any information about the motive or confirmed whether the arrested suspects from Tamil Nadu are contract killers. The community eagerly awaits updates as the investigation deepens.