Peroor robbery case: One more arrested for holding migrant workers hostage at machete point
Police arrested Subin Subhash, bringing the total to nine suspects for robbing thirty-three migrant workers at machete-point. Mastermind Bakir Mandal orchestrated the heist following gambling losses, but quick police work solved the crime.
Police arrested Subin Subhash, bringing the total to nine suspects for robbing thirty-three migrant workers at machete-point. Mastermind Bakir Mandal orchestrated the heist following gambling losses, but quick police work solved the crime.
Police arrested Subin Subhash, bringing the total to nine suspects for robbing thirty-three migrant workers at machete-point. Mastermind Bakir Mandal orchestrated the heist following gambling losses, but quick police work solved the crime.
Kottayam: The police have arrested one more suspect in connection with the brazen midnight robbery in which 33 migrant workers were held hostage at machete-point at Poovathummoodu in Peroor. The arrested person was Subin Subhash (33), a native of Thiruvarpu in Kumarakom. With this, the total number of arrests in the case has risen to nine.
The police had previously arrested the alleged mastermind, Bakir Mandal (25), a native of West Bengal; Mithul Raj (19) from Pampady; Vimal Jith (20), Milan P. Jose (19), and Aditya Kumar (19), all hailing from Puthuppally; P.R. Praveen (37) from Thiruvalla; and two minors. The shocking incident took place around midnight on August 9.
A masked gang barged into a congested migrant worker camp, held the occupants at machete point, and physically assaulted and threatened them before looting ₹65,500 in cash, 16 smartphones valued at around ₹1.5 lakh, and five ATM cards. The breakthrough for the investigators came from a single slip-up: during the heist, one of the gang members inadvertently addressed an accomplice as ‘Bhai’.
Seizing on this vital clue, the police suspected the involvement of an interstate migrant worker. Backed by scientific and digital evidence, the investigation team tracked down and detained the mastermind, Bakir Mandal, within hours. His interrogation subsequently led to the identification and arrest of the other accomplices. Subin Subhash, who had gone into hiding immediately after the incident, was apprehended on Wednesday.
According to the police, high-stakes card games were routinely played at the camp on Saturdays. Bakir Mandal had reportedly lost around ₹30,000 over multiple sessions, and the bitter resentment stemming from these losses drove him to orchestrate the heist. The gang had gathered over drinks at a prominent bar in Kottayam, where they finalized the plot and rounded up lethal weapons before executing the strike.
Cracking the sensational case and netting the prime suspects within 24 hours has proved to be a major feather in the cap for the Ettumanoor police.