Police suspect that the murders were premeditated, given that Afan managed to kill five people within six hours.

According to police sources, Afan told officers that he argued with his mother, Shemi, a cancer patient, on Monday morning over money. When she refused, he tried to strangle her with a shawl but failed.

He then struck her on the head with a hammer, knocking her unconscious. Believing she was dead, he locked the house, took her phone and left for his grandmother’s home in Pangode.

CCTV footage shows Afan heading towards his grandmother’s house on a two-wheeler at 12:30 pm.

Salma Beevi, 95, his paternal grandmother, had been living alone. Afan told police that he attacked her with the hammer in the kitchen when she refused to hand over her gold ornaments. He then snatched the four-sovereign gold chain she was wearing and pawned it at a local finance firm.

Police believe Salma Beevi’s past refusals to pledge jewellery for him may have fuelled his anger.

After pawning the chain, Afan rode back to Venjaramoodu. Meanwhile, his uncle, Abdul Latheef, 62, a retired CRPF officer, grew suspicious after repeated calls to Shemi went unanswered. When Latheef called Afan directly, Afan assumed his uncle had discovered the murders. He then rushed to Latheef’s house in SN Puram and killed him and his wife, Sajitha Beevi, 55, around 3 pm.