The two men, one of whom was deemed “a person of interest” in the murder of 46-year-old Prietam Manickram, has since been released from custody and the police were ordered to conduct further investigation into the matter.
Last week, the police file was sent for legal advice and was returned with recommendations for the men not be charged. As a result, they were released and the police were asked to conduct further investigations.
Four persons in total were arrested for questioning since the murder. The first two were also released.
The lifeless body of Manickram, called “Vishnu” and “Shahrukh,” a father of three, was discovered by a relative who went to check on him around 1.40 am last Monday.
At the time, he was lying in the bottom flat of the abandoned house. There were no visible marks of violence but an autopsy revealed that Manickram died as a result of manual strangulation.
Balram Manickram, the dead man’s son, had previously related to this newspaper that he last saw him alive on New Year’s Day and everything was normal.
Balram said that his father shared the abandoned house with two other men, whom he described as drug addicts.
He said while it remains unclear what led to his father’s death, the family suspects that Prietam and someone might have been involved in an argument, which escalated and he was strangled.
Balram had explained that Prietam became an alcoholic several years ago following his separation from his wife. Since then, Prietam has been occupying the abandoned house.
Balram said on several occasions he and his siblings tried to get Prietam to return home. He added that at one point, his eldest sister even took Prietam to Linden but he fought to return. Despite his choice, he said, they still kept checking on him.
