With the support of Interpol, a Crime Branch (CB) squad led by Superintendent of Police K. K. Moideenkutty from Kozhikode has arrested a 52-year-old man who was one of the accused in murdering a resort owner from the city 17 years ago. It was on Sunday that the fugitive who was tracked from Saudi Arabia by the international investigation agency was brought back to the State.
According to CB officials, Mohammed Haneefa, a native of Malappuram district, was the 10 th accused in the murder of Arakkal Abdul Kareeem who was running a resort in Wayanad district. Seven of the accused had been convicted in the case. One of the accused died during the trial period and two others were acquitted.
CB officials said the businessman hailing from Chevayur was beaten to death on the Thamarassery ghat road with the support of a hired gang of goons. Haneefa was the one accused of helping the gang to identify the victim’s location and his properties to plan the attack. It was reportedly some failed business deals that reportedly led to the rivalry and murder.
Mohammed Haneefa who escaped to Saudi Arabia was reportedly in a detention centre from November 2022 after he was caught by the security agencies for using a forged passport. There was also a red corner notice against him.
According to CB sources, the man who was remanded in judicial custody on Sunday would be quizzed again as part of probing another incident in which he was accused of placing ganja in the vehicle of one of his old friends to trap him in a criminal case. Police sources said the cheating was done following the failure of a business partnership in the automobile field. The custody application would be moved on Tuesday, they said.
