T’puram: A CCTV footage of the broad daylight murder of a 42-year-old man at Palkulangara in Thiruvananthapuram has surfaced, revealing the sequence of events that led to the fatal attack. Police said the murder was allegedly carried out as an act of revenge stemming from a long-standing personal feud.The victim, C S Vishakh of Palkulangara, was hacked to death around 1.30pm on Sunday near his residence.The CCTV footage shows a car pulling up beside Vishakh as he was walking along the road. As he attempted to flee, three men chased him down and repeatedly attacked him with sharp weapons before fleeing the scene in the same vehicle.Vishakh sustained grievous injuries to his hands, legs and abdomen. His mother, Shaila, was the first to reach him after the attack. Soon police arrived at the scene. He was rushed to hospital but later succumbed to his injuries.Police arrested four suspects from a wooded area near Govt Hospital, Pulayanarkotta, by Sunday night. The accused have been identified as Pradeep (39) of Palkulangara, Shivaprasad (39) of Karikkakom, Vineeth (40) of Pachalloor and Rasim (35) of Pettah.Police said the prime accused, Pradeep, is listed as a rowdy-sheeter at Vanchiyoor police station. Police said Vishakh had previously been convicted for stabbing Pradeep in 2024 and had only recently been released from prison after serving his sentence in that case. The two neighbours had also been involved in a long-running dispute over property, and police believe Sunday’s attack was carried out in retaliation.Police recovered three newly purchased knives, allegedly bought from Chalai, and later seized the weapons, believed to have been used in the murder, from a wooded area at Pulayanarkotta.Meanwhile, Vishakh’s family has accused police of failing to act despite repeated complaints that his life was under threat. They alleged that Vishakh’s mother had submitted complaints to Vanchiyoor police and city police commissioner, warning that Pradeep, who is also a Kaapa case accused, was planning to attack her son.According to the family, Pradeep had repeatedly threatened to kill Vishakh, and requests for police protection were ignored. Vishakh had also approached a court seeking police protection after citing death threats. The family contends that timely intervention by police could have prevented the murder.
