The Kerala Police have achieved a breakthrough in a 19-year-old triple murder case involving a woman and her 17-day-old twin daughters, thanks to the application of artificial intelligence (AI).
In a case dating back to 2006, two former army personnel, Divil Kumar and Rajesh, were arrested last week in Puducherry, where they had been living under false identities. The arrests were facilitated by AI-assisted analysis and a persistent investigation.
The Case and Initial Investigation
The murders took place in Alayamon, Kollam, where Ranjini, 25, and her newborn twin daughters were found dead. The Kerala Police initially identified two suspects, Divil Kumar and Rajesh, who were army personnel stationed in Pathankot, Punjab. Despite the early progress, both suspects vanished, and the case went cold for nearly two decades.
The AI Breakthrough
The case was revisited in 2024 when Kerala Police’s technical intelligence team employed AI to digitally age old photographs of the suspects. The process involved predicting changes in facial features and hairstyles to create updated images of the suspects.
These AI-generated images were cross-referenced with social media photographs, leading to a breakthrough. One of the AI-generated images had a 90% match with a wedding photograph on Facebook, linking it to Rajesh, who was living under the alias Praveen Kumar in Puducherry.
Further investigation revealed the whereabouts of Divil, who had assumed the identity of Vishnu. Both men were working as interior designers and were married to schoolteachers. The Kerala Police informed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which carried out the arrests on January 4, 2025.
The Motive and Crime
The investigation revealed that Ranjini and Divil were neighbors and had been in a relationship. When Ranjini became pregnant and decided to keep the babies, their relationship deteriorated, and Divil returned to his Army posting.
Rajesh, Divil’s colleague, posed as Anil Kumar from Kollam and befriended Ranjini. The two conspired to murder Ranjini and her twins. Both were on leave from the Army at the time of the crime.
On the day of the incident, Ranjini’s mother, who had gone to collect the twins’ birth certificates, returned to find her daughter and grandchildren dead.
A Rare Application of AI
Kerala ADGP (Law and Order) Manoj Abraham highlighted the rarity of using AI in solving such a long-pending criminal case. He noted, “This case demonstrates the power of combining advanced technology with traditional investigative methods.”
A Landmark in Criminal Justice
The successful resolution of this case underscores the growing role of AI in law enforcement and its potential to solve even decades-old crimes. With the suspects now in custody, the long-awaited justice for Ranjini and her children may finally be served.
