How 'vigilance' pulled off a heist in Perumbavoor

KOCHI: Palliparambil house in the heart of Perumba voor town had unexpected visitors on August 19 this year. A team of 14 `vigilance officers' came here to inquire about the disproportionate assets of businessman Sidhique Abdul Rahman and decamped with jewellery worth Rs 13 lakh and Rs 25, 000 within 10 minutes. They escaped in an MUV .
The manner in which they fled the scene raised the family's suspicion.Soon the family lear nt that they were hoodwinked by criminals, some who had direct terror links. “They were very convincing. There was a man in unifor m, who claimed to be the local sub-inspector.Seeing him, I opened the door and he told me that the rest of them would search the premises. It was a routine he assured me,“ said Rahana, Sidhique's wife.
The team was smartly-dressed, with ID badges inside their pocket, she did not detect anything strange. Soon her husband arrived and found the `vigilance team' to be polite. “Before leaving, the SI apologized for the inconvenience. They didn't say anything about the seizure. Then I saw two officers leave through the back door with my wife's bag. That raised my suspicion,“ said Sidhique.
He rushed inside and found that the house was ransacked.By then, the team had disappeared. Sidhique rushed to his vehicle, but found that the keys of his two-wheeler and car were missing as the `officers' had left it in the scooter's glove compartment. By the time he found a spare key and chased them, they had disappeared.Sidhique then went to Perumbavoor police station. After hearing his story, where the circle inspector told him that he had been duped. CI Baiju Poulose said that the information provided by the family was crucial. “The family suspected their former neighbour, Ajims, who had criminal history. We picked him up and learnt about the whole racket involving Abdul Halim and Shamnad,“ he said. The accused's location was traced using their mobile phones. They were then arrested after a chase near Thrithala highway .
The plan was carried out by two teams. A Kannurbased team headed by Abdul Halim and a second team led by Harris Chalikkavattom, who is suspected to be in possession of the looted gold and ornaments, said the police.Police said that Halim and Ajims used to smuggle gold by converting it into an unt r a c e a b l e a l l o y.Apart from the duo Shamnad, Sanoob, Raees, Fasir, Ranjan (former ASI who impersonated a cop) were arrested. Later Rajesh Kumar and Nasir surrendered before the police. After the arrest of Fasir, who drove the MUV , his family visited the police station.When they were shown a screen grab of the footage collected from a hotel where the accused had dined, the family recognized one man in the picture as Salim, who was involved in the Bengaluru blast case.
Based on the evidence collected during the preliminary investigation, police invoked Unlawful Activities Prevention Act against the accused. Four others including Salim, Harris, Raisal, Samad and Ramesh are on the run.
Another crucial evidence was the bag they stole from the house. Halim had asked Raees to burn it. Instead of burning the bag, he threw it off Mangalapuzha Bridge after stuffing it with stones.The bag which had bank documents were later recovered.
COP CONNECTION
The man who impersonated a police officer was actually a former policeman.Ranjan, who was an ASI, quit his job after he was demoted following an assault case. Later, he donned the policeman's role in many such cases with various gangs
CASH FOR BLESSINGS
The accused had visited an usthad in Nellaya before and after the crime. “We are going on a mission, we need your prayers,“ the accused had told the usthad before committing the crime. The accused also prayed at several mosques en route, said an investigating officer. After the heist, the accused met the usthad and informed him that the mission was accomplished and paid him Rs 6,000 as a token of gratitude. The usthad was reportedly unaware of their mission. He later told the police how the accused had come to meet him