Kollam (Keralam), Nov 6 Police in Keralam on Friday arrested a key accused in the murder of Bihar RJD leader Baidyanath Mahto from Andamukkam in Kollam, officials said.
The arrested man was identified as Ajaj Ahamed (32), a Bihar native who had been living in the Andamukkam area.
Mahto, a district panchayat member, was shot dead last month by motorcycle-borne assailants at Kathariya in Bihar’s Sitamarhi district.
Kollam City Police received a tip-off from the intelligence wing of Bihar Police that Ahamed was hiding in Andamukkam.
“Based on the information, we verified his presence here. We found that he had been working as a driver in various shops and houses since 2019. We also visited the house of a lawyer where he was last employed as a driver,” police said.
Officials said Ahamed was involved in around 20 cases in Bihar, including two murders. The others were armed robberies.
Police said he would travel to Bihar to allegedly commit crimes and return to Keralam, where he lived with his family, including his parents.
He was also allegedly involved in the murder of a woman during a robbery attempt in 2020.
Bihar Police officials told reporters that Ahamed was one of the state’s most wanted criminals. They said they had passed on the information about his presence in Kollam to the local police three days ago.
A team from Kollam East police station then conducted searches and examined CCTV footage to trace him, they said.
Ahamed will be produced before a court in Kollam to obtain a transit warrant before being taken to Bihar, officials said.
(PTI News)
