Kochi is fast becoming the New York of Kerala with major development activities and people making their presence felt in various fields, but unfortunately, criminal activities are also on the rise.
A good number of people in the district have made it to the list of the world’s most wanted criminals. The names of 10 persons from the the district figure among 31 Keralites in the revised red corner notice list of the Interpol released this year by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the agency which is operating as Interpol in the country.
It is alarming to note that six persons from the district are wanted by the security agencies in the country for terror-related activities. That 16 of them belong to the northern districts such as Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasargod is a cause for concern.
Azeez Kizhakkanayil Odackali, Nasar Marangattu, Najeeb Kariberypadi, Abdul Sathar alias Manzoor, Savad Mudasherri and Sajil Thottathukudi are wanted for terror-related activities. Koyikkal Ramrao Sudarshan and Baby Srambickal are wanted for economic frauds and counterfeit cases.
Some terror-accused persons like K P Sabir of Kannur who is one of the first persons from Kerala to be trained in terror camps in Kashmir were mainly operating in Ernakulam district.
“the Central Bureau of Investigation is the agency which works as Interpol in the country. Red corner notice is issued against people who after committing notorious crimes are suspected to have fled from the country. The majority of the Keralites in the red corner list are linked to murder, human trafficking, arms and drugs smuggling, terror-related and counterfeit cases. The number has risen from 17 last year to 31 this year,” CBI officials said.
National Investigation Agency(NIA) officials said that it was becoming like Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, the nursery of terror-activities in the country and Indian Mujahideen. Kerala is turning out to be financial source for terror activities, as a the kith and kin of a large number of people work in West Asian countries. Kerala is also a place where a high number of Fake Indian Currency Notes(FICN) printed and circulated with the assistance of Inter Services Intelligence(ISI) arrive.
Interpol has a global membership of 190 countries, and enables member countries to work together on cross-border investigations. Around 900 persons from across the country are wanted by the Interpol in various cases.