The Special Investigation Team probing the murder of senior civil police officer Maniyan Pillai, has confirmed that ‘Aadu’ Antony had gone to Chennai after stabbing the cop on the night of June 26.
“The SIT has confirmed that Antony had been in Chennai after June 26 from the evidence we collected”, said V. Ajith, ACP, SIT.
“We have also confirmed that a woman, Susan, who was absconding after the attack, was not with Antony,” he said.
SIT had received information that the woman had been to Ernakulam and Thrissur. A special team was being deployed to trace her, the police official said.
Mr Ajith also said that the SIT had extended its search to Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka also. Video clips were being released in Tirupati through local channels and dailies so as to cover the outskirts.
“Local people from various places like Egmore and Madhavaram had contacted us to pass on information about Antony, after the video clippings were released on Saturday by the SIT in Chennai through various local channels, newspapers and other media.
We had received vital evidence of the presence of Antony in some localities of Chennai after the attack,” said Jawahar Janard K.J., Circle Inspector, SIT.
Local people had identified Susan who used to go to Chennai along with Antony. The Q branch of Tamil Nadu Police has taken the probe seriously. A special team from the Q branch headed by an SP is extending its support for searching Antony in Tamil Nadu.
look-alikes have a tough time
Men in the state bearing a resemblance to Aadu Antony have been having a tough time. Locals kept informing cops about them, assuming they were Antony.
So, if you happen to be male, are over 6 feet tall, have a round face, a bald head and white strands of hair, watch out. You may arouse suspicion.
Illustrative of the prevalent atmosphere of suspicion is what happened to Kaladharan, a native of Kozhikode, who had a torrid time on Friday at Ezhukone near Kottara-kkara, where he works.
Kaladharan approached a mobile service center to repair his cellphone when the staff, alerted by the fact that he got three SIM cards from his mobile, suspected that he could be Antony.
They took photos of Kaladharan, went to the nearest bus stand to cross check with the lookout notice and then informed the police.
The cops traced Kaladharan and interrogated him before affirming that he was not the Antony they were looking for.