Three of family hacked to death in Kochi, neighbour held

Rithu, a habitual offender, has been named in several criminal cases.

Thiruvananthapuram: Three members of a family were killed in an attack allegedly by a notorious criminal at Chendamangalam on the suburbs of Kochi on Thursday evening.

The deceased have been identified as Venu, 65, his wife Usha, 62, and their daughter-in-law Vinisha, 32.

The police held their neighbour Rithu Jayan in this connection. He was reportedly involved in many criminal cases.

Jayan was said to have barged into the house by evening and attacked the family members with a weapon.

Local people said that he was a frequent eve-teaser of the locality and used to abuse neighbours. Many women in the locality had complained against him.