THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A joint operation by police teams from Keralam and Bihar has resulted in the arrest of a key accused in the murder of RJD leader Baidyanath Mahto in Bihar last September.
Ajaz Mohammed, a native of Dumra in Sitamarhi district in Bihar, who was working as a driver in Kollam, was taken into custody by the Kollam East police on Friday at Andamukkam.
The investigation was initiated after a Bihar police team reached Kollam on Monday following a tip-off that the accused had moved to Keralam.
Ajaz has been living in a rented house in Andamukkam with his family, including his parents, wife, and three children. He had worked as a driver for a few advocates and later in some footwear shops in the area.
“Ajaz has a friend in Kottiyam, who helped him take a house on rent and a new SIM card. Based on the information from Bihar police, we reached out to him and collected details of the accused. It was difficult to trace him as he could not be reached over phone,” said Abhilash R, a special branch officer who was part of the investigation team.
Though police inspected his house, Ajaz and his family had left the house to avoid arrest.
“From his friend, we came to know that he has relatives in Ernakulam. So the Bihar police team travelled to Ernakulam too but couldn’t trace him there. Considering the difficulties of travelling as a group, we suspected he had not moved out of Kollam.
We also contacted the house owner and the autorickshaw drivers to gather information about him. On Friday, we managed to take him into custody as he returned to his rented house to collect the Rs 25,000 security deposit he had paid. The auto drivers identified him and alerted the police,” officer added.
The police have produced Ajaz before the court, seeking a transit remand order to take him to Bihar. The investigation was carried out by ACP Shaji, Kollam East SHO Jayansankar, and others.