Kozhikode (Kerala) | Police on Friday recovered skeletal remains suspected to be those of a 35-year-old man allegedly buried by his friends in 2019 after they claimed he died of a drug overdose.

Vijil, a native of West Hill, had gone missing on March 24, 2019, after leaving home in the morning. Police traced his mobile activity to Sarovaram Park until 2 pm that day and registered a missing person case.

According to the accused, Vijil collapsed while consuming brown sugar with friends at an isolated spot in Sarovaram Park.

Believing he had died, the accused—Nikhil (35) of Eranjpalam and S Deepesh (27) of Vengeri—abandoned his motorcycle near the railway station, disposed of his mobile phone, and buried his body in a wetland two days later.

They also claimed to have returned months later, collected some skeletal remains, and immersed them at Varkala as part of rituals. A third suspect, Renjith of Poovathuparambu, remains at large.

Earlier attempts to recover the body had failed as the land became waterlogged, and the case went cold until it was recently reopened during a review of pending unsolved cases.

On August 25, police arrested Nikhil and Deepesh in connection with the case. After regaining custody earlier this week, authorities launched a fresh search of the marshy land in the presence of the accused.

On September 11, clothing and shoes suspected to belong to Vijil were recovered, followed by the discovery of skeletal remains on September 12. The bones, including rib bones, teeth, and parts of the jaw, will be sent to a forensic laboratory for DNA testing to confirm whether they belong to Vijil.

The accused have been charged under IPC sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 297 (trespass to burial places), and 34 (common intention). Their custody is set to expire soon, and they will be produced in the court, a police officer said.