Kannur, Kerala: Mystery deepened over the discovery of an object wrapped in a mat inside a grave at a church cemetery in Vaniyappara, Iritty, with authorities suspecting it could be a third body buried alongside two officially recorded burials.

Police have registered an FIR and launched an investigation into the incident. Officials plan to exhume the grave and conduct scientific examinations, including DNA testing, as soon as permission is obtained from the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO).

According to church authorities, only two bodies were officially buried in the grave, and both were interred following standard procedures. Church records also show no dispute regarding those burials. However, the discovery of a body-like object wrapped in a mat inside the grave has triggered controversy and raised serious questions.

Relatives of missing man Sijo Scaria, a native of Vilangad in Kozhikode district, have claimed that the body could be his.

Preliminary police investigations revealed that Grave No. 38 corresponds to the old Grave No. 23. Records indicate that two individuals, Mariyamma and James, were buried there.

A special meeting was convened at the church involving the Peravoor DySP, Rural Special Branch DySP, Circle Inspector, Iritty Tahsildar, parish priest, and elected representatives to assess the situation. Police have accepted the church authorities' request to open the grave for further examination.

Church and parish authorities have expressed satisfaction with the steps taken by the police so far. Meanwhile, heavy police security has been deployed at the cemetery until the RDO issues the necessary order for exhumation.

Meanwhile, Sijo went missing in 2020. Sijo moved to his wife's house in Vaniyappara in 2014 following family issues. However, his in-laws informed relatives that he had been missing since 2020.

According to the family, Sijo, who was known to frequently consume alcohol and get involved in arguments, had left home one day, saying he was going to the nearby town and never returned. A missing-person complaint was filed with the Kuttiady Police on the same day, but no information about Sijo's whereabouts was obtained in the years that followed.