KOCHI: The police have arrested dreaded gangster Maradu Aneesh in connection with attempted murder and abduction cases. Aneesh, the leader of a Kochi-based gang, was arrested from a private hospital after the police had started a manhunt for him on October 31.
According to police officials, Kochi City Police had launched Operation Maradu to trace Aneesh. “On October 30, Aneesh and six of his gang members intercepted the vehicle of a Nettoor resident Hariz P H at Maradu. After assaulting him, they took Hariz to an isolated place in Alappuzha. They robbed him of his money and mobile phone before leaving him at an isolated place. The complainant alleged that the attack was part of an extortion attempt by Aneesh and his gang,” a police officer said.
Based on Hariz’s complaint, Panangad police registered a case and started an investigation. The police found that Aneesh and his gang were involved in another murder attempt case registered at Thrikkakara last year. As directed by Kochi City Police Deputy Commissioner S Sasidharan, a special team was formed to nab Aneesh.
“We received a tip-off that Aneesh had arrived at a private hospital in Kochi. Soon, our police teams were mobilised and the hospital was surrounded to prevent Aneesh’s escape from the place. He was taken into custody from the hospital on Monday night,” a police officer said.
Aneesh was later produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody. In Kerala alone, Aneesh is wanted in 15 criminal cases involving murder, attempted murder, abduction and goonda activities. Apart from that, Aneesh was also involved in criminal cases registered in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Aneesh and his gang have been active in Kochi since early 2000 after splitting from a gang led by Bhai Nazeer. Their rivalry led to several clashes in Kochi. Later, Aneesh moved to Tamil Nadu where he focused on a spirit smuggling business with the support of criminal gangs there.