KOTTAYAM: Yahya Khan, a 43-year-old man from Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram, has been apprehended by the Kerala Police in Sharjah with the assistance of the Interpol. Khan, who was proclaimed an international criminal by the Interpol, was arrested for raping a mentally challenged girl in Pala in 2008.
According to the police, Khan, who used to go door-to-door selling pots, visited a house in Pala as part of the sales. After knowing that the girl with mental disability was alone in the house, he sexually assaulted her.
Though the Pala police initially detained Khan following the incident, he managed to flee after securing bail.
In order to arrest him, a special investigation team was formed under the leadership of the district police chief. During the subsequent search, the police found that he had gone abroad after hiding in Kannur and Malappuram.
To arrest Khan from abroad, the district police chief, K Karthick, submitted a fool-proof report, and based on it, the Interpol declared Khan as an international criminal in January 2024. Subsequently, Khan was arrested by the police from Sharjah with the help of the Interpol.
He was brought to Kochi on Saturday. Khan was produced in court and remanded to judicial custody.