Three arrested for arson at ASI home

ALAPPUZHA: Thrikkunnapuzha police arrested three men, who have set ablaze a four-wheeler and another motorcycle belonging to ASI Ali Akbar of Pallana. The arrested have been identified as Sathar, 37, Maalieckal house, Purackadu, Ambalapuzha, Muhammed Riffag, 36, Rahmathu Manzil, Vadakkumuri, Karuvatta and Shabu, 32, Pathisseriyil, Karuvatta. They were produced before Haripad judicial first class magistrate court and the court remanded them to judicial custody by Friday evening.
It was in the wee hours of January 4, the vehicles and house of Ali Akbar were attacked by the three accused. Speaking to newsmen, district police chief V Suresh Kumar said Riffag was a wholesale dealer of narcotics products and other two accused were his agents. “ On October 23, the anti-narcotic team led by ASI Ali seized Rs 2 lakh banned tobacco products from the houses Riffag and Sathar and they were also arrested. Later, they got bail. The attack was conducted in retaliation of their arrest. They also intended to give a warning to Ali to avoid future raids in their homes,‘’ said the police chief here.
“We arrested them after collecting the details of the mobile phones which came under the coverage of mobile tower near to Ali’s home. Ali told us the names of some people like Sathar While we checking the phone details, soon we noticed that the mobile phone of Sathar was near to Ali’s home throughout the Monday night. Following it, we took him into custody while he was trying to escape from his home. We grilled him in detail. During the quizzing, he confessed to the crime and we arrested the other two accused, who were involved in the attack, based on the statement of Sathar. They came on a two-wheeler and carried out the crime,’’ said Thrikkunnapuzha sub-inspector M Pradeesh.
However, the relatives and neighbors said that they also saw a Swift car soon after the attack and it suddenly went near from the home seeing the people. ``We suspect that one more person is involved in the attack and we have shared our doubt with the investigation team,’’ said a close relative of Ali.