The crime branch arrested two persons, Suresh and Subhash, on charges of patricide and handed them over to Karnataka police on Monday.
The two had killed their father Surendran in 2004 at Ripponpet in Shimoga of Karnataka. Surendran, an accused in many temple theft cases and a resident of Ollur in the district, had fled to Ripponpet more than 16 years ago, as per the CB superintendent of police, Mr P.N. Unniraja.
He was involved in a theft at the Triprayar temple in the district. It was a week before that police arrested Jayathilakan, a relative of Surendran, in connection with the theft.
This led to the arrest by the special team probing temple theft cases of the two on Monday. Surendran fled to Ripponpet with his wife and two sons in 2004.
Police said the accused said that their father was a habitual drunkard who used to regularly torture their mother.
They murdered their father and left the body in a septic tank. After a few weeks, they took the body out and burnt it.