Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Three arrested on murder charge

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The police have arrested three persons in connection with the murder of S. Santosh, 25, at Maruthankuzhy on Friday night.

The suspects are ‘Chundan’ Vijayan, 24; Pramod, 24; and ‘Pulsar’ Rajesh, 22. They are residents of Maruthankuzhy Chitra Nagar and adjoining areas.

Assistant Commissioner, Cantonment, K. Ramachandran said the suspects were members of a gang led by ‘Althara’ Vineesh. He is an accused in several violent crimes in the city, including the gangland murder of one Thampan at a bar hotel in Sasthamangalam in 2006.

Mr. Ramachandran said an armed gang led by Vineesh and his accomplice ‘Jaunty’ Rajesh arrived on motorcycles at Maruthankuzhy junction at 9.15 p.m. They were looking for ‘Goondukadu’ Joy, an accomplice of absconding gang leader ‘Goondukadu’ Shabu, with whom they had a spat recently. Joy fled the scene on seeing the gang members. They chased him into a nearby residential neighbourhood near the junction. Santosh, who was standing in front of his house, was hacked when he unsuspectingly asked one of the gang members why they were making a ruckus in his neighbourhood.

Mr. Ramachandran said Santosh was a law abiding citizen. The gang members cut him down in “drunken fury,” he said. Santosh’s neighbour, Ramachandran, a trader, was also injured in the attack.

Mr. Ramachandran and Circle Inspector N.A. Baiju arrested the suspects.

The police are investigating Vineesh’s sources of income. They alleged that Vineesh along with one ‘Maruthankuzhy’ Ambili headed a large gang which profited from the retail of illicit spirit. The gang, which has informants among spirit smugglers, ambushed vehicles smuggling spirit into Kerala from Tamil Nadu through the Parassala border.

Investigators said the spirit cans were transported in stolen vehicles to Aruvikkara and kept submerged in certain remote areas of the reservoir. The illicit stuff was later brought to the city in small quantities for sale through certain toddy shops.

The gang also sourced liquor marked for sale to ‘Defence personnel only’ from ex-servicemen frequenting the Defence canteens at the Military Station, Pangode. The ‘Defence quota’ liquor was sold to consumers at exorbitant rates on days when prohibition was enforced in the district.

The police said they were investigating Vineesh’s associates, ‘Aryanadu’ Shyam and ‘Aruvikkara’ Maniyan, to learn more about the gang’s activities. Shyam is wanted in several cases, including murder and vehicle theft.

The police said Maniyan had harboured Vineesh after the District Collector issued a warrant against him under the provisions of the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act in January. Vineesh, who was imprisoned for six months under the Act, was released from prison last month.

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