THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala police have declared cash reward for those who provide information regarding the murderers of ASI Wilson of Tamil Nadu Police who was shot dead on Wednesday night at Kaliyikkavila in Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. The police release said Thoufeek and Shameem, who hail from Nagercoil, were the two accused who shot him dead and provided their pictures. The two are between 25-30 years and have criminal antecedents. The police are also checking whether there were more people in the group and they had escaped to Kerala.
There were reports that the Tamil Branch intelligence wing had alerted the state police about chances of a group of gun-wielding youngsters planning attacks in the southern states, including Kerala. However, Kerala police officials have so far not reacted to this. Earlier in the morning, Tamil Nadu DGP J K Tripathi met his Kerala counterpart Loknath Behera at Thiruvananthapuram amid the emerging reports of the role of extremist organizations behind the murder of ASI Wilson.
Both the officers remained tight-lipped on what had transpired during the meeting. Behera said operational matters were discussed and hence the details cannot be revealed. "The crime happened in Tamil Nadu and we are assisting them. We will extend all the help required. I cannot reveal the matters that were discussed during the meeting. But regarding Kerala, there is no security ramifications," he told Express.
Sources, meanwhile, added that the visit was a routine one as the visiting DGP was in his way to the crime spot. "He flew down from Chennai to Thiruvananthapuram airport. Operational cooperation was sought by the visiting DGP, " sources added.
The Tamil Nadu police sources have released photographs of the suspect from the CCTV visuals obtained from the crime spot. Going by the initial assessment, the two accused were Al Umma members. Al Umma is a banned organization and have been accused of several terrorist incidents, including Coimbatore blast. One of the suspects, the agencies felt, was involved in the murder of a Hindu Munnani firebrand leader at Ambattur in Chennai district. He was out in bail in that case and had skipped trial, sources added.
Did the accused escape to Kerala?
The investigators have got inputs that suggested the two had escaped to Kerala. A CCTV footage, considered to be that of the two, was recovered from inside Kerala border, said Kerala Police sources.