Kozhikode man wanted for murder of Mangaluru jewellery store employee arrested

Kasaragod: Kasaragod Police on Thursday arrested a man accused of murdering a jewellery store employee in Mangaluru a month ago.

The arrested person has been identified as Shifas P P (33), a native of Thuvakkode near Koyilandy in Kozhikode district.

On February 3, a man wearing a mask and hat entered Mangaluru Jewellers near Balmatta and stabbed to death Raghavendra Acharya (52), when the owner Keshava Acharya stepped out for lunch.

According to the CCTV recording, the suspect spent around 30 minutes in the store before leaving with gold jewellery.

Mangaluru City Police had made public the CCTV footage of the suspect.

Kasaragod District Crime Records Bureau deputy superintendent of police Abdul Rahim C A said Shifas was picked up on suspicion of being a drug peddler. "But we found that he was wanted for a murder," Rahim.

Shifas came from Kozhikode on a train and took an autorickshaw to the Mallikarjuna Temple near the KSRTC bus depot on Thursday. As soon as he got out of the autorickshaw around 2 pm, beat police officers picked him up.

At the station, he claimed he was a coconut trader. But the police found an air pistol, wig, and pepper spray on him.

When the police ran a background check, they realised he was wanted in the murder case.

"We have handed him over to the Mangaluru city police commissioner," said Rahim.