A 30-year-old man, who robbed and injured an elderly couple nearly a month ago, was arrested from Kozhikode City on Thursday. The accused, Chundayil Veettil Haseemudheen (30) from Chandappadi in Malappuram district, led an affluent lifestyle and lived in a luxury apartment at Nadakkavu, paying a monthly rent of Rs. 21,000, the police said.
The police inspected nearly 200 CCTV within and outside Kerala to track down the accused. Haseemudheen is charged with attacking and robbing the couple at their house in Mathara near Pantheerankavu in the early hours of August 17.
After ensuring the husband had taken the dog for a walk, he entered the house. He wore a helmet and a raincoat as he entered through the front door. The police said he covered the face of the woman and took her gold chain. As she resisted the attempt to remove her golden bangle, the accused stabbed her in the hand. The husband, who had returned by the time, was also attacked while trying to fight the intruder. The couple was hospitalised, with the woman requiring ten stitches on her hand.
According to the police, the accused got into three auto-rickshaws after fleeing from the house, walked along the railway track and went to the beach before returning to his residence in the city, possibly to trick the police. He sold the gold at a jewellery in Vengara in Malappuram and left for Bengaluru. He was nabbed while planning to leave the country. The police said Haseemudheen had planned to rob the house once before.
The police said Haseemudheen acted respectably in the community and dressed stylishly. He has various cases registered at police stations in Feroke, Tirurangadi and Parappanangadi. A special action group under the city police chief Narayanan T IPS and Pantheerankavu station Inspector G Biju Kumar arrested the accused. Special Action Group Sub Inspector O. Mohandas and Sub Inspector Shaji from Pantheerankavu station, Sub Inspector Anoop from Feroke station and Skylesh from Cyber Cell led the investigation team.