Kasaragod: Kasaragod police arrested the prime accused in the murder of an autorickshaw driver during the communal tensions that followed the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992.

Ashraf of Ceramics Road in Thalangara in Kasaragod town was arrested in Hyderabad, where he had allegedly been living under a false identity for 34 years.

He is accused of stabbing Vinod Kumar, an autorickshaw driver from Kasaragod, to death at Kadavath in Thalangara on December 15, 1992.

Kasaragod Town Police booked him for murder and promoting enmity between different communities under Sections 302 and 153A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

After the murder, Ashraf fled Kasaragod and settled in Hyderabad, police said. He had been living in Chandrayangutta under the assumed name Abbas Mohammed Ali. A special investigation team formed to trace the absconding accused conducted a months-long probe before tracking him down in Hyderabad, police said.

There were three accused in the case. The second accused was sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in March 2009, based on the dying declaration Vinod Kumar had given to the doctor and his relatives before his death.

The third accused was convicted under Section 212 of the IPC for harbouring the first and second accused and helping them evade arrest. Ashraf had remained absconding throughout the trial.

The special team comprised SI Narayanan Nair, Abubacker Kallayi, ASI Shaju CV and Senior Civil Police Officer Rajesh N.