THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a suspected fallout of a personal grudge, a handicraft shop owner fired at a restaurant owner using a country-made gun at Varkala on Tuesday. The restaurant owner escaped unhurt. Later, the Varkala police arrested the shop owner . According to the police, the accused has been identified as Shibin Philip, a native of Alappuzha. He has been running a handicraft shop at the Cliffside for the past ten years. The victim has been identified as Shyam Kumar, who runs Darjeeling restaurant at Cliffside.
The incident took place around 7.45 pm when Shyam Kumar was standing in front of his restaurant. Soon, Shibin charged at Shyam Kumar and shot him. Shyam had a close shave as he managed to step aside. The accused then started pointing the gun at locals and tried to flee. Following this, the locals sought the assistance of the tourism police on Varkala beach to trace him.
Though the police chased Shibin, he managed to hide in a high-rise building near the beach. Later, the police spotted him on the rooftop of the building. When he realised he would be caught, he threw away the gun. The police recovered the weapon and sent it for forensic examination.
The accused will be produced before the magistrate on Wednesday.