Techie killer suspect held in Mysore

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For the first time after the T. P. Chandrasekharan murder, the Special Investigation Team, led by the Crime Branch chief, ADGP Vinson M. Paul, on Wednesday arrested one of the dreaded killers, who has a hammer, sickle and star tattoo on his hand.

Arayakkuzhy Paloth Sijith alias Annan, 31 a native of New Mahe, who had injured himself while savagely wounding Chandrasekharan on May 4 night near Onchiyam, was picked up from Karnataka, through mobile phone intercepts.

He was sent to 14 days police custody. The Vadakara judicial first class magistrate witnessed unruly scenes when the police brought the accused to the court.

Posing a tough challenge to the police, a large crowd, including workers of RMP, was present at the court, showering abuses on the killer suspect.

Police said Sijith was helped by a CPI(M) leader to undergo treatment at a private clinic at Chokli soon after the murder.

Later he felt acute pain on the hand and sought treatment at the Cooperative Hospital, Thalassery, where he underwent a minor procedure, according to police.

When the investigation team started tracking movements of assassins, another leader helped him to escape to Mysore in his car, police said.

It was blood traces on the Innova car abandoned by the assassins that raised suspicion in the SIT about possible injuries to the gangsters. n Continued on

This was after the SIT learnt from forensic experts that the blood found on the car did not match that of Chandrasekharan.

Then SIT chanced on the evidence, indicating that a killer suspect, possibly wounded on the night of the murder, had sought treatment at a private clinic at Chokli and that a local CPI (M) leader had accompanied him to the clinic.

SIT has so far arrested 14 persons involved in the conspiracy and the assassination.

But the latest arrest is the biggest catch and the police reckons this would help it gather details of the conspiracy that led to the murder and the assassins' escape.

The arrest of Sijith paves the way for SIT to collect evidence, linking some top district-level leaders of CPI(M) with the murder. Fearing arrest some of them have fled their houses, it is learned. EomJM