Kannur police track down accused in Visakhapatnam 2 months after man’s murder

Kannur: Robin's sudden disappearance after a man was found seriously injured in Kannur gave the police their first major clue. What followed was a long trail of enquiries, CCTV footage and phone records that took investigators from Kannur to Muhamma in Alappuzha and finally to Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, where they tracked him down.

Robin, a native of Muhamma, was arrested from Visakhapatnam in connection with the death of Chandran, 56, who was assaulted near the shopping complex outside Kannur railway station around 8 pm on June 25. He died at 1.45 pm on July 2 while undergoing treatment at Government Medical College Hospital, Pariyaram.

The case initially came to the police as an unnatural death. According to the FIR registered at Kannur Town Police Station, hospital authorities informed police that Chandran had died from injuries and that none of his relatives was present at the hospital. Police registered a case under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and began probing how he had sustained the injuries.

The investigation soon pointed towards an assault. Police learnt that Chandran was allegedly assaulted during a quarrel among a group of people in front of the shopping complex near Kannur railway station.

Robin's disappearance after the incident raised the police's suspicion. Investigators first spoke to people who regularly frequented places where he used to work and sleep, particularly around Kannur railway station and the old bus stand. They learnt that he had not been seen after the incident. One person reportedly recalled seeing him walking across the railway overbridge from a distance, but there were no further sightings.

The police also examined CCTV footage from several shops and establishments around the railway station but could not establish which direction Robin had taken. Their investigation revealed another hurdle: Robin did not use a mobile phone.

The team then turned to his family background and learnt that his father, Sajan Sabu, lived in Muhamma. Police suspected Robin might occasionally contact his father using other people's phones. When investigators made enquiries in Muhamma, they learnt that Robin had not visited the area for several years. However, further enquiries suggested that he occasionally contacted his father. Police obtained the father's call records and began examining hundreds of recent calls.

One number stood out as suspicious. When questioned about it, the father reportedly said the caller was a Hindi-speaking worker who had contacted him because he worked as a mason. Investigators, however, found that there were no other calls to or from the number before or after that call, increasing their suspicion.

The team traced the number to the area around Visakhapatnam port. Attempts to contact the person using the number did not yield much information, as he reportedly avoided the investigators on various pretexts. The police then travelled to Visakhapatnam and traced the person. When shown Robin's photograph, he identified him but claimed that Robin had arrived only about a month earlier and was from Tamil Nadu. He did not provide further details about his whereabouts.

Investigators then reached a settlement near the port where around 200 workers, mostly migrant labourers, were living in makeshift sheds. Realising that locating Robin among the workers would be difficult, the team began checking the sheds one by one at night.

The search triggered protests from the workers, but the police explained the circumstances and continued the operation. The team eventually found Robin inside one of the sheds. He allegedly attempted to flee but was overpowered and arrested by the team. He was subsequently brought back to Kannur.

The arrest was carried out under the direction of City Police Commissioner Vijay Bharat Reddy IPS by a team led by Kannur ACP M P Azad and Town Inspector Mahesh Kandambeth, along with members of the Commissioner's special investigation team.