KOCHI: The Hill Palace police on Thursday arrested four members of a gang who attempted to murder a person last month.
The arrested have been identified as Shoukath T, a native of Arakkakadavu, and Thiruvananthapuram-natives Biju T L, Dileep Kumar and Prajith N C.
The arrested are members of a gang that undertakes criminal activities on contract. Several criminal cases are pending against them.
Last month, the gang was hired for Rs 1.5 lakh by one Ajayan to murder Rajeev P Gopal of Eroor, following a property dispute. After the gang attacked Rajeev, Ajayan paid Rs 1 lakh extra for not revealing his name. The police are searching for Ajayan.
“The plan was to kill Rajeev while he was returning home from workplace on April 17. However, when the group attacked Rajeev, the local residents intervened and rescued Rajeev. Members of the gang fled the crime spot, and the locals took Rajeev to hospital,” said Hill Palace CI Baiju Poulose.