Kozhikode: The main accused in the Akshaya centre kidnapping was arrested from Ahmedabad airport. The man arrested is Rafeeque from Poomkudy, near Areacode in Malappuram. He was caught after Kerala Police issued a lookout notice for him.

Sources said Rafeeque, the husband of staff at the Akshaya centre at Chullikkaparamba, near Cheruvadi in Kozhikode, was trying to flee from India to a Gulf country after the kidnapping incident. Police had also issued a lookout notice against his brother, who is another accused in the case.

A team from Mukkom police will soon go to Ahmedabad and record Refeeque's arrest. “He is in custody at the airport now. We are planning to go to Ahmedabad soon,” a police officer said.

At noon last Saturday, an eight-member gang kidnapped Abid Chittaripilakkal from the Akshaya centre, which he manages, and locked him in a house in Poomkudy. His friends and relatives followed the abductors' vehicles and freed him. Brutally assaulted, Abid suffered injuries to his spinal cord and head and had to undergo surgery at a private hospital in Areacode.

The gang that abducted Abid was led by Rafeeq, a non-resident Keralite and his accomplices were members of a 'contract' gang, all training at a gymnasium in Malappuram district. Mukkom police registered a case under different sections, including an attempt to murder (Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita Section 109).

Meanwhile, an all-party protest meeting and rally were held at Chullikkaparamba town on Monday. Traders body Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi too organised the protests and shops downed their shutters for for two hours.