THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Almost three weeks into the Pattoor goonda attack, the city police are yet to nab notorious gangster Ohm Prakash, who is said to be the mastermind behind the attack that resulted in injuries to four men. The police’s inability to track Prakash down had drawn flak amid reports emerging that several officers were hand in glove with the fugitive.
The police, meanwhile, maintained that Prakash has ceased to use digital gadgets thereby making it difficult for them to track him down. The police had earlier sent a special team to Delhi following leads that Prakash was hiding there. However, as the team reached there he reportedly shifted his hideout to neighbouring states.
However, the recent inputs received by the police suggested that Prakash had moved out of Delhi and was last spotted in Hyderabad. Since the police cannot rely on digital intelligence, they are totally depending on human inputs to track the movement of the gangster, who was lying low for several years after being acquitted in Aprani Krishnakumar murder case by the High Court.
Sources said Prakash left Delhi feeling insecure as the police have stationed a team there. “The team has been stationed to probe three cases, including the one against Prakash,” said a source.
The investigators felt Prakash was using his business contacts in other states to arrange safe houses. “He has got business contacts in several states. Those contacts are helping him in arranging safe houses,” said an officer. An armed gang belonging to Prakash had attacked four rival gang members at Pattoor on January 8. The business rivalry between Prakash and Nitin, who heads the rival gang, precipitated tension between the two groups culminating in the brazen attack near Pattoor petrol pump.
However, the fruitless effort in nabbing Prakash and another gangster, Puthenpalam Rajesh, who is accused in a separate criminal case, has invited a lot of criticism against the police with many pointing that there is a nexus between the blacksheeps in the force and the criminals.
The police, meanwhile, brushed aside the allegation and said they are actively pursuing the gangsters. “One of the gangsters had wanted to surrender, but since it was conditional, we rejected. We have mapped his contacts outside the state and are hot on his trail,” said a senior officer.