THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A day after one of the key accused in former radio jockey Rajesh’s murder was arrested, state police chief Loknath Behera has started proceedings to contact Ministry of External Affairs to extradite the prime suspect, Abdul Sathar. The DGP wrote to the ministry requesting its support in bringing the accused to Kerala for further prosecution proceedings. Sathar is currently facing a travel ban owing to a cheating case registered by Qatar police. So the DGP will request to remove the ban on him so as to bring him to the state at the earliest.
Meanwhile, the special investigation team probing the case on Wednesday recovered the weapons from Kannetti lake at Karunagappally with the help of divers. Two country swords have been recovered based on the information given by Mohammed Salih, the kingpin of the gang who attacked Rajesh. Salih was arrested by the special investigation team on Tuesday at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport.
Salih contracts chicken pox Though remanded in judicial custody, Salih will undergo treatment at a hospital for chicken pox, said Attingal DySP P Anilkumar.
He also said police teams are on the look out for Appunni who hacked Rajesh along with Salih. “Separate teams have been sent to Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. He would be nabbed soon,” said Anilkumar.
Tansir arrested on Tuesday has also been remanded. On Monday, an engineering graduate was held for helping the culprits execute the murder. Swathi Santhosh was involved in hatching the conspiracy in the case and arranged country swords to hack Rajesh.
On Tuesday, Salih had confessed to the crime and said he had executed it owing to the ‘commitment’ given to Abdul Sathar, an NRI businessman based in Doha. The reason for the murder is the personal grudge of Sathar against Rajesh after the former came to know about the relationship of Rajesh with his former wife. Salih also revealed that Sathar was upset over the wife’s relationships and wanted to take revenge for destroying his family life. Salih was a trainer of a gymnasium where Sathar used to do work-outs.
Rajesh aka Rasikan Rajesh, 36, of Kilimanoor was hacked to death in his studio by a four-member gang around 2 am on March 27. The call details of Rajesh revealed Rajesh was in conversation with a woman via an internet number when he and Kuttan were attacked by a four-member gang outside his studio. The police later recovered the car used by the assailants.