Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Bullet-riddled signboard found

Thiruvananthapuram: The police on Saturday found 17 bullet holes on a government signboard on the side of the busy Kuravankonam-Marappalam road.

Experts from the State Forensic Sciences Laboratory (FSL) recovered two expended .32 calibre bullets from the spot. They also found several bullet marks on an electric post behind the board. Assistant Director (FSL-Ballistics Division) K. Mohanan said the holes on the board were identical and the shots were fired over a period of several months. Scientist N. Nisha assisted Mr. Mohanan.

Circle Inspector (Peroorkada) K.E. Baiju said Tikku John Anthraper, a 37-year-old local resident who was arrested on Friday on the charge of keeping firearms without licence, had fired the shots found on the board from his Spanish-made .32 Astra pistol. He said Tikku possessed an arms licence to own three weapons; a .32 pistol, a 12 bore shotgun and a .306 calibre rifle.

The licence expired on July 17, 2008. Ideally, the suspect should have deposited the weapons in a registered armoury or at the local police station till his license was renewed. (The Additional District Magistrate (ADM) renews weapon licences on the basis of police reports.) Tikku is a marksman and has won several State-level shooting championships. He is a member of the Rifle Club, Kottayam. The police have requested the ADM to cancel Tikku’s arms license.

Mr. Baiju on Thursday arrested N. Dudi Karthikeyan, a 34-year-old resident of Ilipode, on the charge of possessing illegal arms. Mr. Baiju inspected Dudi’s house and confiscated several air guns altered for more power and a silver-handled antique sword suspected to have been stolen from Kuthiramalika (the palace museum run by a private trust headed by the ruling family of erstwhile Travancore).

The Circle Inspector also recovered two green camouflage-coloured metal ammunition boxes with the markings of the Indian Army. He also found a CD which contained scanned images of Kerala University degree certificates. The police suspect the CD was used for making fake certificates.

Dudi told the police that he bought the boxes from a second hand goods shop in Chalai market. Investigators are not taking his statement at face value. The police have sought Dudi’s custody for questioning him further in connection with the recoveries.

Mr. Baiju said Dudi confessed to have procured a 12 bore U.K.-made Ivor Johnson shotgun from one Amar, a 34-year-old Karate instructor and resident of Jagathy, last year. The suspect allegedly sold the weapon to Tikku. The gun originally belonged to Amar’s late grandfather Lt. Colonel Balakrishnan. The licence for possessing the firearm expired in 1973. The officer said the Colonel’s inheritors had failed to deposit the weapon or inform its whereabouts to the police.

The police said they recovered the illegal weapon from Tikku’s house early on Friday. They confiscated 63 bullets of different calibre, including several high-powered foreign-made air guns, a telescopic gun and spend ammunition. The suspects are in judicial custody at the sub jail here.

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