Kerala: Two former soldiers, Dibil Kumar B and Rajesh P, have been arrested by the CBI after nearly two decades on the run for the murder of a 24-year-old woman, Ranjini, and her 17-day-old twin daughters in Kerala. The gruesome crime, committed on February 10, 2006, stemmed from fears that a court-ordered paternity test would confirm Kumar as the father of the twins.

Ranjini, an unwed mother, had sought justice through the Kerala State Women’s Commission after Kumar, a soldier in the Army’s 45 AD Regiment in Pathankot, distanced himself following the twins' birth. Enraged by the prospect of the paternity test, Kumar allegedly conspired to murder Ranjini with the help of Rajesh, a fellow soldier.

Rajesh had befriended Ranjini and her mother under the pretense of mediating between Kumar and Ranjini. However, investigators revealed that he was complicit in the murder plot. The crime was discovered when Ranjini’s mother returned to their rented house in Yeram, near Anchal in Kerala’s Kollam district, to find her daughter and granddaughters dead.

Manhunt & Escape

Following the crime, both Kumar and Rajesh deserted the Army in March 2006 and vanished. Despite a police reward of Rs 2 lakh and the case being handed over to the CBI in 2010, the men evaded capture. Investigations revealed they had started new lives under fake identities in Puducherry, as reported by NDTV.

Using forged documents, including Aadhaar cards, Kumar and Rajesh married teachers in Puducherry and fathered children. Their charade unraveled when the CBI received a tip-off about their whereabouts. After surveillance, the CBI's Chennai unit arrested the duo on Friday.

They were presented before the Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on Saturday and remanded in police custody until January 18. The CBI is expected to seek further custody to advance the investigation. The arrests mark a remarkable breakthrough in a 19-year-long pursuit for justice in one of Kerala’s most chilling murder cases.