Kerala: Martin Joseph had a history of violence, deviant behaviour

THRISSUR: The family of Martin Joseph Pulikottil, the accused in the sexual abuse case in a flat in Kochi, had a humble origin. In fact, Martin’s father, Joseph Pulikottil, was brought up in an orphanage at Pavaratty after his father’s death.
Joseph’s family was originally located at Chittattukara but they are now staying at Puttekkara near Mundur. Joseph, who is now 55, had worked at the Ashram of Mother Theresa at Kolkata, and has also worked as an auto driver. Interestingly, his auto was named after Mother Theresa. Joseph had studied Carnatic music and had also worked as music teacher in a school in Bengaluru. He had also worked in Bahrain for some time.
While his wife is a homemaker, Joseph’s younger son is engaged in stock trading and is located in Thrissur. Joseph’s economic status shot up after he started lending drums.
Joseph and his family have been deeply disturbed over the deviant behaviour of his son for quite some years. “On most occasions Martin used to be very docile and a decently behaved person. But sometimes he was seen acting in an irrationally violent way,” Joseph said.
Martin had studied up to Plus Two in a government school and had joined for degree course in a college in Thrissur. Joseph feels Martin’s undesirable associations during the education days must have triggered the traits of deviant behaviour in him, and he must have started using drinks and narcotic substances since then. “He did not complete his degree course, and went somewhere remaining contactless with the family, especially me,” Joseph said.
He became a completely transformed person after he went to the Gulf, and was passionately in touch with us all. But he returned from the Gulf, within a year and a half, and subsequently, he tried to start a real estate business, which did not take off. “I had given him Rs 25 lakh for that venture but he did not return it even after receiving it back from his business partners,” he said.
“Martin had become violent when he came to know that I had mentioned to one of his friends about this money. He came home with an iron rod and evidently under the influence of some intoxicants, smashed everything at home, including furniture, doors, windowpanes, telephone, television, bike and car. We were also warned that we will be finished if we complain to the police,” he added.
“We persuaded him to marry some other girl when he quarrelled earlier with the living partner, who has given the torture complaint against him, he flatly refused to do so and said he had lived with her for about one and half year and cannot abandon her just on the basis of some trifle quarrel. He said he will wait for her return. However, there must have been some serious misunderstanding between them and his cruel violence to her is totally unjustified,” Joseph said.