Three LeT suspects arrested

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Three Laskhar-e-Toiba suspects were held by police from the crime branch on Monday on charges of operating a plot to murder a goonda after taking a quotation of money from a businessman.

The suspects, Abdul Halim (35) of Kannur, Shamnad (24) of Ponnani and Anaz (28) of Perumbavoor, were arrested from a hideout in Perumbavoor.

According to police, the trio had been staying in a lodge in Perumbavoor for the last few weeks in a bid to assassinate a goonda called Ratheesh of Malayattoor.

Ratheesh had earlier threatened to kill a person called Abu of Vallam in Ernakulam. It was Abu who gave the trio the ‘quotation’ to kill Ratheesh.

The gang was held by a crime branch team led by detective inspectors Biju K. Stephen and K.J. Peter, who were included in the special investigative team probing the Kakkanad bomb blast case. The arrested were already in the police radar in connection with the collectorate blast case.

Biju K. Stephen, the inspector said the price was fixed at Rs10 lakh and an advance of Rs35,000 was given to the gang. It was Anas who made deal with Abu and roped Halim and Shamnad into the assassination mission. The plan was to kill Ratheesh when he came for trial to the Perumbavoor court.

However later they changed their plan and were going to kill him near the Manjeri Court, as the Perumbavoor mission was riskier. The gang was set to move to Manjeri soon.

The police also said the arrested three were close aides of suspected LeT operative Thadiyantavide Nazeer.

Halim is an accused in nearly 14 terror-related cases, including the Kozhikode twin blast case and the Kalamassery bus torching case, Azad murder case and Vinod murder case.

Halim was also on the wanted list of the Kannur police in connection with four cases including a Rs 24 lakh robbery.

Preliminary questioning of the accused revealed that they were into quotation activities to raise money to meet the legal expenses of those who were facing trial in connection with the Kashmir recruitment case.

“We suspect that the accused are involved in the collectorate blast case too. Only after a detailed interrogation, will we be able to get clear inputs,” the police said.

Shamnad was involved in 12 terror cases and was absconding after being released on bail in two cases. Anas was involved in an attempted murder case and the Kashmir recruitment cases.

The three were handed over to the Perumbavoor police in the evening and a case has been registered.

The Perumbavoor police have spread the net for Abu who gave the gang the quotation of money.