KOCHI: Kandelakudiyil Suresh aka ‘Dracula’ Suresh, a serial thief who had given the slip to the police on several occasions, on Saturday finally landed in police custody. His luck ran out when locals -- he was seen carrying out a burglary at an under-construction building at Peruvamuzhy near Muvattupuzha on Friday noon -- initially managed to catch him after they launched a manhunt following an alarm raised by a labourer. But he escaped this time also after biting the hands of those caught him.
Though the people continued the search, Suresh was nowhere to be found. After locals spotted his motorcycle, they laid a trap by keeping vigil over the area. When he arrived to take his vehicle the locals surrounded him. But Suresh again made a last-ditch attempt to flee. He jumped into the river from Peruvamuzhy bridge. However, he was taken into custody by the police. He was produced before the court and remanded in judicial custody.
Hailing from Vadayambadi at Puthencruz, Suresh is an accused in 20 theft and burglary cases registered since 2001. He got the name ‘Dracula’ since he is an expert in carrying out burglary under the cover of darkness. Suresh had earlier made news for his suicide attempt to escape from police custody when he was arrested last year. “He used to escape from police custody whenever he was taken into custody in theft cases. But he was arrested on Friday,” said an officer of Muvattupuzha police station. Meanwhile, police denied reports that Suresh suffered a fracture on his legs when he jumped into the river. Anilkumar K, DySP, Muvattupuzha confirmed that Suresh was picked up on Friday.