Koratty, Thrissur: Kodali Sreedharan, the notorious leader of a gang that targets transporters of hawala money, and who is wanted by the police in five States, has been arrested along with his son Arun (37) by the Thrissur district rural police. The police apprehended them when the van in which they were travelling was waiting at the traffic signal at the Koratty junction. Although Sreedharan pointed his pistol at the police, he was subdued after the firearm was snatched away from his hand. The Deputy Inspector General of Police, Ajitha Begum, and the Rural Police Superintendent, Navneet Sharma, stated that the police in the other States had been informed of Sreedharan's arrest, and teams from those States would arrive in Kerala soon.

Panikkavalappil Sreedharan, a native of Kizhakke Kodali, Vellikulangara in Thrissur district, is a wanted criminal with 47 criminal cases against him in States such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, besides Kerala. He is notorious for ambushing transporters of hawala money on highways and robbing them of the cash. The Q Branch of the Tamil Nadu police and the CID in Karnataka, which issued look-out notices and formed special teams to nab Sreedharan, were unable to do so for the past 14 years. Most of the robberies conducted by Sreedharan took place in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

A tip-off received by the rural police chief that Sreedharan’s car had crossed the Paliyekkara toll plaza on Friday afternoon proved to be a crucial piece of information in nabbing him. T S Sinoj, the Deputy Superintendent of Police of Chalakudy, and a team of police personnel tailed Sreedharan’s van up to Koratty. When the police surrounded them, the accused attempted to escape by revving up the van and taking it forward. The police foiled the attempt by parking a police jeep in front of the van. The police broke open the window pane on the driver’s side and forced him to switch off the vehicle. The police seized a pistol capable of firing five rounds and five mobile phones from Sreedharan.

Sreedharan used to rob carriers of hawala money by wearing the Police Commissioner’s uniform and stopping such vehicles on highways. The members of his gang would also be in police uniforms. If the victims questioned them, the gang would attack them and take away the money.

Sreedharan behind Pudussery heist?

Indications are that it was Sreedharan and his gang who attacked passengers in a car, robbing them of Rs 5 crore and taking away the car at Pudussery in Walayar six months ago. The investigation is ongoing in the case where the hawala money carriers were kidnapped along with the car and tortured. They were later released in Thrissur before the gang escaped with the money. The gang had arrived to carry out the robbery in three cars with fake number plates and a tipper lorry. The car carrying the hawala team was blocked with the tipper lorry, and the occupants were robbed of the money.

Some time ago, the kidnapping of Sreedharan’s son Arun by a hawala gang from Malappuram in retaliation for robbing them of hawala money had made the news.