Kochi | The CBI has taken over the probe into the murder of an unidentified woman whose body was found in a rubber plantation at Perinthalmanna in Malappuram district in 2004, officials said on Friday.
After re-registering the FIR, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) submitted it before the Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on Thursday.
The investigation is being conducted by the CBI’s Special Crime Branch (SCB), Thiruvananthapuram unit, sources said.
According to the FIR, the body of a woman aged around 35, wearing a yellow blouse and yellow skirt, was found in a rubber plantation at the Puthangangady area within the limits of the Perinthalmanna police station on December 28, 2004.
Postmortem examination revealed that the cause of death was strangulation.
The FIR said that the Perinthalmanna police conducted an investigation in the case from December 28, 2004 to March 20, 2009.
However, the probe could neither establish the identity of the victim nor trace the accused.
The investigation was later closed as undetected and a final report was submitted before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Perinthalmanna, on March 3, 2009, sources said.
In 2021, P Abdu of Angadippuram in Perinthalmanna approached the Kerala High Court seeking a CBI probe into the case.
Abdu claimed that he had suffered humiliation due to false imputations in connection with the case, as he was interrogated and his vehicle was seized during the initial investigation, an official said.
Subsequently, the State Police Chief directed the Crime Branch to probe the incident.
However, the Crime Branch investigation did not yield any further progress, prompting Abdu to again approach the High Court in 2025 seeking a CBI investigation, sources said.
On November 20, 2025, Justice G Girish ordered the CBI to take over the investigation.
Officials said a team led by SCB Inspector Biju N has been assigned to conduct the probe.
