Kollam: In connection with the murder of gunda leader Gym Santhosh at Karunagappally, the police nabbed another accused, Pankaj, in the early hours of Wednesday. Manorama News reported that he was taken into custody around 3.45 am. in the Kallambalam area.

According to the police, Pankaj and his gang hatched the conspiracy to murder Santhosh as an act of vengeance. He was taken to the Karunagappally police station on Wednesday morning. The accused will be interrogated in the presence of a senior officer, the police said.

The police claimed that Pankaj was involved in the conspiracy to murder Santhosh. The investigation team has recorded statements from multiple individuals in this regard.

Two days back, police arrested Hari and Pyari who are directly involved in the murder. Meanwhile, key accused Athul and Rajappan are still absconding. The investigation team believes they will be able to apprehend him after questioning Pankaj.

According to the case details, a four-member gang stormed Santhosh’s house and hacked him to death in his bedroom on March 27.

The deceased, Santosh Kumar, 45, who was out on bail, was a resident of Padanayarkulangara, Kottisseril. Santosh Kumar, who was severely wounded in the attack, was left for dead by the gang in his room, and they also assaulted another man named Aneer at Vavvakkavu 30 minutes later. The police said that Santosh and Aneer had criminal antecedents. Santosh is an accused in an attempt to murder case registered in 2024.

Hari, Pyari and Rajappan are the other accused in the case.