THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: An unidentified assailant set ablaze a car and three two-wheelers which were parked on the premises of a house at Poovachal near Kattakada in the wee hours of Saturday. The Kattakada police have registered a case and begun an investigation to trace the culprit. The incident took place at the house of Akhil at Konniyoor, near Poovachal. Akhil was a former Yuva Morcha worker.
According to the police, the vehicles -- a Maruti Alto car, a bike and two scooters -- caught fire around 4.55am. Soon, Akhil alerted the fire and rescue team. Two units from Kattakada fire station were pressed into service and contained the fire in an hour. The timely intervention of the fire and rescue teams prevented the fire from spreading to the house. The police said they could not identify the assailant, and the available CCTV footage could not get the face of the culprit.
A scooter which was stolen from Cheruthuruthy in Thrissur was found abandoned near the house on Thursday. The police believe this vehicle could be used by the culprit. “Efforts are on to nab the culprit. Prima facie, we can conclude that one person is behind this incident. As per Akhil’s statement, he did not have any enemies and he is not active in politics either. However, a probe is on and we will soon find the culprit. A parallel probe will also be done on the scooter theft from Cheruthuruthy,” said Anil J Rose, Kattakada inspector of police.