Police Clear Mystery of Mat-Wrapped Body Found in Kerala Church Tomb

Kannur: The mystery surrounding an unidentified object found wrapped in a mat alongside a coffin inside a tomb in a church cemetery in Kerala’s Kannur is finally clearing up, with the police investigations revealing that the tomb contains bodies buried naturally.

Police said that the confusion regarding the dead bodies at the Vaniyappara Infant Jesus Church stemmed from a change in tomb numbers during a recent cemetery renovation. According to Benny Thomas, Sub Inspector, Karikkottakary Police Station, the relatives have confirmed the burial of bodies in this specific tomb in 2006 and 2015.

The incident unfolded on the 13th of this month when a tomb was opened for the funeral of a parishioner. Workers noticed an object tightly wrapped in a plastic mat lying right next to a previously interred coffin. As per Christian rituals, bodies are never buried wrapped in plastic mats.

Police officials at the cemetary (ETV Bharat)

Typically, when a tomb is reused, the old remains are either relocated or covered with soil and sawdust before a new coffin is placed. However, upon discovering the mysterious mat-wrapped figure, church authorities immediately halted the proceedings, shifted the funeral to another tomb, and alerted the police.

The matter came to public attention after a local resident named Jils Unnimakkal shared pictures of the open tomb on his Facebook page. Old church records indicated that the last funeral in this particular tomb took place in 2015, preceded by another burial in 2007.

Adding to the suspicion was the fact that the plastic mat found inside the nearly decade-old tomb appeared surprisingly new. This led to widespread speculation among locals that someone might have committed a murder elsewhere and trespassed into the cemetery under the cover of darkness to hide the body and destroy evidence.

Parish vicar Father Gilbert Konnayil clarified that the church committee had officially lodged a complaint with the police as soon as the anomaly was spotted. Following this, the Karikkottakary police sealed the tomb and launched a probe. Investigators soon discovered that the renumbering of tombs during the cemetery renovation in 2019 was the root cause of the confusion.

The alteration of the original numbers led to glaring discrepancies in the recorded dates, which initially masked the true burial timeline. Furthermore, church authorities pointed out that bodies subjected to post-mortem are occasionally buried along with the mats used to wrap them.

Despite the confirmations regarding the natural nature of the deaths, official legal procedures must still be completed. To entirely eliminate any lingering doubts regarding the suspicious bundle, the police have decided to open the tomb for a scientific examination in the presence of revenue officials and a medical team.

Detailed forensic tests will be carried out following this procedure. Meanwhile, church authorities have assured their complete cooperation with the ongoing police investigation to bring the absolute truth to light.