Kasaragod: A history-sheeter accused in the murder of another murder accused died in the hospital on Thursday. Traces of rat poison were found in his body, said police.
The deceased has been identified as Habib alias Abhilash (31), a native of Chowki near Kasaragod town.

According to police, Abhilash was found unconscious on the service road of NH66 near Badar Juma Masjid in Kumbla on Tuesday. After being alerted by residents, Kumbla police shifted him to General Hospital in Kasaragod. Medical examination revealed that rat poison had allegedly entered his system, police said. As his condition worsened, doctors referred him to Kannur Government Medical College Hospital at Pariyaram, where he was in the ICU.

Abhilash was among the accused in the October 2023 murder of ‘Samoosa’ Rasheed, a native of Shanthippallam in Kumbla. Rasheed was allegedly killed after being struck on the head with a brick, and his body was later found in a thicket near a ground close to the IHRD College in Kumbla.

The killing had attracted attention because Rasheed himself was the first accused in the 2019 murder of Shanu, a native of Kasaragod. Shanu's body was found with his throat slit from an abandoned well in a deserted property near Nayak’s Road, close to the Kasaragod Police Station.

Apart from being an accused in the murder of ‘Samoosa Rasheed, Abhilash figured in several other criminal cases, including attempt to murder, abduction, marijuana trafficking and offences registered under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA), police said.
Kumbla police have initiated an investigation into the circumstances leading to the death.