Thrissur: After more than three decades on the run, a man accused in a 1995 murder case was traced and arrested with the help of an old photograph and artificial intelligence. Krishna Kumar, who allegedly changed his name and assumed a new identity after fleeing Kerala, was finally tracked down in connection with the murder of 70-year-old Martha in Thrissur.
Martha, the wife of an Army personnel, was found murdered at her house in East Fort, Thrissur, on October 31, 1995. Gold ornaments she was wearing and Rs 5,000 were missing. She had allegedly been suffocated to death using a pillow pressed against her face.
Krishna Kumar, then 18, a native of Vengassery in Ottapalam, Palakkad district, and Prasad, then 19, from Koratty, were arrested in connection with the murder. However, Krishna Kumar went absconding after securing bail. Although police made several attempts to trace him, including searches at his old address in Ottapalam, they failed to locate him. The court subsequently declared him a proclaimed offender.
Left home at 18 and assumed a new identity
After being named an accused in the murder case, Krishna Kumar left home at the age of 18 and travelled to Delhi, where his uncle Gopalakrishnan was settled. He later changed his name to Kishan Kumar and assumed a new family identity. His uncle introduced him to local residents as his adopted son, alongside his two daughters.
Gopalakrishnan, a former military personnel who was working at a sugar factory in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, arranged a job for him as a welder at the factory. Living under his new identity, Kishan Kumar reportedly maintained a quiet life and earned a reputation as a polite and well-mannered person among local residents.
Around 15 years ago, he married a woman from Kundara in Kollam district. Despite building a new family and living under a different name, his alleged involvement in the 1995 murder remained concealed.
Investigation revived after years
With investigators unable to trace him for several years, the police revived the investigation in 2022. During inquiries at his former address in Ottapalam, a distant female relative living in Ernakulam provided a crucial lead. She reportedly informed the police that Krishna Kumar’s uncle, Gopalakrishnan, was living in Delhi.
The investigation subsequently shifted to Delhi and neighbouring areas. Police continued gathering information and later learnt that Gopalakrishnan had died.
Old photograph uploaded to Gandiva AI
A major breakthrough came in 2025 when investigators uploaded an old photograph of Krishna Kumar, taken when he was 18, to Gandiva AI, an information analysis tool associated with the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID).
The analysis reportedly generated a lead pointing to Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, where a person resembling Krishna Kumar was believed to be living. Investigators then focused their inquiries on Malayali associations and businesses run by Malayalis in the area.
Police also used artificial intelligence to generate an age-progressed image based on the old photograph. The image was circulated during local inquiries, helping investigators identify a person with a similar appearance. Further inquiries revealed that the man had married a woman from Kollam district.
Uncle’s mobile phone provides crucial lead
During the investigation, police learnt that Gopalakrishnan’s mobile phone was in the possession of his daughter after his death. Investigators examined the contacts and messages stored on the phone, along with call detail records (CDRs). This eventually led them to Krishna Kumar’s wife, a native of Kundara.
Information obtained from the phone records and location details helped investigators establish links to Kundara. Police conducted further inquiries in the area and gathered information about the couple, including their marriage around 15 years ago.
After prolonged surveillance and scientific investigation, police finally took Krishna Kumar into custody while he was attending a wedding ceremony in Kundara.
Thrissur City Assistant Police Commissioner T.R. Rajesh said Krishna Kumar had been living with the apprehension that he could be arrested someday. He added that advances in information technology, particularly artificial intelligence, could help investigators solve cases that had remained undetected for decades.
Gandiva and the changing face of criminal investigation
Gandiva is an information analysis tool associated with NATGRID, the National Intelligence Grid under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. The platform is designed to help security and investigative agencies analyse and correlate information available across multiple government databases.
Banking transactions, telecommunications records, travel details and immigration-related information are among the data sources linked to the system. Such integrated platforms are intended to assist investigations involving terrorist networks, suspicious financial transactions and organised crime.
According to Union government information released in March 2026, 11 central agencies and police forces in 28 states and eight Union Territories are part of NATGRID. The system is linked to 21 data sources.
In the Martha murder case, a combination of old police records, information from relatives, investigative leads, AI-assisted data analysis and age-progressed facial images helped police trace the accused after 31 years.
A photograph taken more than three decades ago ultimately became a crucial lead in a murder investigation that had remained unresolved for years, highlighting the growing role of technology in long-pending criminal cases.
