19 years, 1 wedding photo, and AI: Kerala’s chilling triple murder mystery solved | Trending

In February 2006, tragedy struck the Anchal town of Kerala’s Kollam. A young mother and her newborn twins were found dead in their home. Santamma, who returned from the local panchayat office, found her daughter Ranjini lying in a pool of blood along with her 17-day-old twins. The throats of all three were slit. Ranjini was found lying in a pool of blood along with her 17-day-old twins in 2006.(X/@SiddharthKG7) Kerala office launched an investigation and zeroed down on two men — Divil Kumar and Rajesh — army personnel stationed at the Pathankot military base. But the police were unable to locate them. Now, 19 years after the gruesome killings, the Kerala police successfully solved the cold case and arrested the two criminals, all thanks to AI technology. What happened in 2006?Police said that Ranjini and Divil, who were residents of the same village, had been in a relationship but when she became pregnant, Divil danced himself and relocated to Pathankot. After Ranjini gave birth to twin daughters in January 2006, Rajesh, posing as ‘Anil Kumar’, befriended Ranjini and offered support. Unknown to her, Rajesh and Divil, who were former army colleagues, conspired to murder her. Determined to make Divil pay, Ranjini acquired an order from the State Women’s Commission to compel Divil to undergo a DNA test to prove his paternity. This is when the duo decided to strike. Rajesh persuaded Ranjini’s mother to visit the local panchayat office for some official work and while she was away, brutally murdered her daughter and her newborn twins. The regration number of a two-wheeler found at the crime scene led police to a military camp in Pathankot, but the accused had already fled. (Also read: Woman dies in Tirupati stampede, husband finds out from viral video: ‘We looked desperately…’) AI and photos help solve crimeIn 2023, the Technical Intelligence Wing of the Kerala Police began using artificial intelligence to re-examine cold cases. Trying to locate Ranjini’s killers, they enhanced old photographs of the two accused to generate an estimation of how they might look after 19 years. These images were then compared against photographs on social media. After sifting through social media, a wedding photo provided a breakthrough. The photo bore a 90% similarity to the suspect Rajesh who was located in Puducherry. With his help, police traced the other suspect, Divil. The two men were arrested the CBI in Puducherry on January 4, almost 20 years after the crime. Over the last two decades, they had made up new identities and were working as interior designers, Vishnu and Praveen Kumar. (Also read: Heart-stopping moment caught on camera as motorcycl crashes into oncoming rider)