Alcohol consumption behind most criminal cases: Police

KOZHIKODE: Alcohol is proving to be a key factor behind the murder cases being reported in the district.

Police said of the total number of six murder cases reported in four months this year, five were committed under the influence of alcohol.

Many other incidents in which intoxicated persons engage in arguments and manhandling were also reported. Influence of drugs and tobacco products are also pointed out as the major reason for clash between migrant labourers and locals.

"The persons, under the influence of alcohol fail to realize the consequence of their action. Persons lose their reasoning skills and ability to control their emotions once they come under the influence of drugs and alcohol," said a police official.

The latest of the murder cases involving liquor as villain was reported in Kozhikode rural police station limit on April 27. A 32-year-old from Thrissur was murdered by a Kottayam native with the support of two Tamil Nadu natives. Tussle between the victim and the accused, all of whom were intoxicated, resulted in the murder, according to police .

As per the autopsy report, the deceased was also intoxicated and the accused also admitted that he too was intoxicated when the incident occurred, said Saju K Abraham, circle inspector of Vadakara. Behavioural pattern of some persons change drastically after consuming alcohol, he added.

Intoxication is proving more dangerous among interstate migrants who engage in menial jobs, construction work and other works in the city. Consumption of drug and alcohol affect the temperament of the persons and they resort to attack instead of finding alternative solutions for their problems.

Of the total number of five murder cases reported in the city in 2014, three were committed under the influence of drug or alcohol.

In most of the cases, emotional outbursts following minor issues ended in murders, said an official with Kozhikode city police. Two murder cases, in which the accused and the victims belong to migrant labour community, were reported in the city, said an official with city police. In the first case, a Maharashtra native was murdered and another injured as a Tamil Nadu native attacked them following an argument related to their sleeping place. The accused were netted by the police in both the cases.

In another incident, a vendor was murdered by another, near Kozhikode Beach offering him alcohol. In this case, alcohol was used as a weapon to weaken the victim, who was stronger than the accused. Besides, Majeri Ashraf the accused in the murder of P Alikkutty, a groundnut vendor was also a dealer of ganja.

In yet another incident three West Bengal locals were arrested on charged of murdering a 51-year-old. The incident was reported in February this year as the deceased Sethumadhavan, who according to the police was under the influence of alcohol, intruded into the construction site where the migrants work and clashed with them.
K M Sree,TNN | May 12, 2014, 12.55 AM ISThttp://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kozhikode/Alcohol-consumption-behind-most-criminal-cases-Police/articleshow/34987985.cms