Palakkad (Kerala), Sep 7 — A migrant worker from West Bengal has come under the police radar in connection with the gruesome killing of his wife and their five-year-old daughter, whose dismembered bodies were found stuffed into sacks and dumped on the banks of the Bhavani River in Attappadi in Kerala's Palakkad district.
Investigators suspect that the man, who had arrived in the area along with his wife and their young daughter around 20 days ago, could be behind their murders.
Police have also learnt that the man had harboured suspicions about his wife, giving investigators a possible clue to the motive.
The victims are suspected to be the man's wife and daughter.
Police have also received information that the deceased were from West Bengal, strengthening the possibility that the case involves a migrant family.
However, their identities are yet to be conclusively established.
The investigation received a major breakthrough from one of the sacks used to dispose of the bodies.
Police found indications from the writing on the sack that it had been brought from Coimbatore to a shop at Kottathara in Attappadi along with other goods.
The batch and other markings on the sack are being examined to trace its exact source.
The Puthur police have launched a detailed probe based on this lead and are checking wholesale and retail shops in Attappadi and along the Tamil Nadu border.
CCTV footage is also being examined to establish who purchased or transported the sacks.
The body parts were found packed in two sacks near Cheerakkadavu on the banks of the Bhavani River.
People who had gone to graze cattle discovered the sacks and alerted the police.
A forensic examination indicated that the deceased had been dead for at least four days.
The bodies were found in an extremely gruesome condition, with the victims apparently killed using a sharp weapon.
The remains had been folded, wrapped in plastic, and packed into the sacks before being dumped in the river.
Police suspect that the murders may have been committed at another location and that the bodies were subsequently transported and dumped in the Bhavani River to destroy evidence.
The river's strong current in the days preceding the discovery is also being examined as part of the investigation.
A special police team has intensified the search for the suspected migrant worker, with the probe being extended to Bengal and also the neighbouring states.
Investigators are hopeful of tracing him soon and unravelling the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the woman and child.