KOZHIKODE: A domestic dispute in Mysuru has unexpectedly helped solve a cold case that had baffled the Kozhikode police for nearly four decades. V K Jose, 71, a native of Malappuram who had been on the run for 36 years after allegedly committing an armed robbery in Thiruvambady, was arrested after a phone call from his wife shattered his double life.
As per the police, Jose had in 1990, intercepted a KSRTC employee, held him at gunpoint, and threatened to kill him before fleeing with his money, around Rs 600. As the police launched a manhunt, Jose slipped across the state border into Mysuru, where he adopted the alias ‘Shivakumar.’
Over the next three and a half decades, Jose integrated into the local community, got married, raised a family and lived a quiet, law-abiding life .
It all changed recently when, following a heated family dispute, Jose’s wife dialled the Karnataka police for help. When officers arrived, Jose’s anxious behaviour raised their suspicions. A search of the house ensued and officers discovered a loaded gun hidden beneath a mattress.
Under intense questioning about the weapon, Jose folded and his fabricated identity began to crumble, revealing his connections to Kerala. Sensing a larger story, the Karnataka police contacted their counterparts in Kerala. A verification of past criminal records confirmed that ‘Shivakumar’ was, in fact, the fugitive V K Jose.
Following the breakthrough, a team from Thiruvambady police station travelled to Mysuru and took Jose into custody. “The arrest was registered at Thiruvambady police station on July 9,” said Prasanth K, the Thiruvambady police station inspector. “Though he strongly denied the police findings about him initially, Jose later confessed to the crime. He was produced before the Thamarassery court and remanded in judicial custody.”