TANUR: When it comes to leading an investigation or finding a lead to trace the accused in any robbery or narcotic cases, the two names that came before the higher officials were definitely Sabarudheen and his colleague Saleesh from Malappuram district. Both worked as a team for a very long time in the DANSAF squad. But from now on, it will be just Saleesh, as he has lost his favourite colleague and a great friend to the Tanur boat accident on Sunday.
Sabarudheen, who was the pride of Kerala Police, was recently shifted to the control room of Tanur police station from the Malappuram SP’s special squad. Though he was shifted to the control room, his penchant for investigation lured him back to the crime squads often.
On the fateful day, Sabarudheen, who was in the midst of an investigation near the Poorapuzha bridge, decided to take a break from work and booked tickets for a boat ride along with two other friends Salam and Sawad, both fishermen from the Parappanangadi locality.
Though Salam and Savad managed to rescue themselves, Sabarudheen was trapped inside the boat. His body was traced only after the boat was towed towards the shore using a crane. Friends and colleagues are yet to recover from the shocking death of Sabarudheen.
Saleesh recalled, “Today morning when I visited his house near Tanur, I couldn’t believe that he has left us. He was an unavoidable part of my career as a police officer. It was great fun to work with him. We have travelled together to different parts of the country as part of investigations,” he added.
Sabarudheen was part of investigations into drug trafficking and theft cases. He was also recommended by seniors for this year’s best police officers medal for his excellence in work.
Salam, who accompanied Sabarudheen said, “Sabarudheen invited us to join the ride which was scheduled to start around 7 pm on Sunday. We are friends who hang out on most occasions and we decided to join him for the ride. Though we are members of the district disaster rescue team, we could not do anything when the tragedy struck as we all were in shock for some time. Later we made an effort to trace our friend, but we failed. Later when the boat was brought to the shore, we found his body stuck inside, which is a sight that will haunt me for a long time,” he said.
Posts of Sabarudheen are doing the rounds on social media. His superiors appreciated him for all the achievements he made for the Kerala Police in his service starting in 2010. Sabarudheen is survived by his wife Muneera, mother, father and three children — five-year-old Famin Abu, Aysha Duva, 2, and 28-days-old Duva Mehek.