TIRUNELVELI: A game of cat and mouse came to an end after 23 years when a 72-year-old murder convict, who was absconding from 1998, was arrested by the Ambasamudram police on Sunday. Tirunelveli District Sessions court had sentenced Pachathu to life imprisonment in 1995 for murdering another man in 1992.
Addressing mediapersons, Ambasamudram DSP Francis, said that Pachathu, a resident of Gowthamapuri village, was arrested for murdering Pattamuthu in the year 1992. “Tirunelveli District Sessions Court sentenced him to life imprisonment in 1995. When his appeal against the life imprisonment sentence was rejected by the Madras High Court, Pachathu, who was out on bail, went missing. The court then ordered for his arrest in the year 1998,” Francis said.
Superintendent of Police Manivannan then directed DSP Francis to trace him. A special team lead by Ambasamudram Police Inspector Chandramohan was formed by the DSP to locate the convict.Elaborating how the team traced him after years, Inspector Chandramohan said it took them about 10 days to track him down through his wife’s phone.
They traced a call connected to Kerala and with the help of the Covid care centre in Thodupuzha, they confirmed that Pachathu was working at a lodge as a caretaker under a different name.
“When we went to arrest Pachathu, he did not resist and came with us willingly. Compared to the picture taken in 1992, he looked different, but we were still able to identify him,” the Inspector commented.
Final call
Elaborating how the team traced him, Inspector Chandramohan said it took 10 days to track him down through his wife’s phone. They traced a call connected to Kerala and with the help of the Thodupuzha Covid care centre, they confirmed Pachathu was working in a lodge as a caretaker