KOCHI: Martin Joseph Pulikottil, accused of raping and assaulting a 27-year-old designer after detaining her in a luxurious flat in Kochi for practically a month, was caught on Thursday night, ending a four-day intensive search by the police. The 33-year-old inventory dealer was caught from deep contained in the forest in Mundoor, Thrissur, with the assistance of native residents.
The police stated he was hiding at Ayyankunnu, a forest space, after escaping from the Kochi flat. “He was transferring from one location to a different and we caught him with the assistance of native residents and the Thrissur police,” stated an officer with Kochi metropolis police. The officers had combed the forest utilizing drone cameras. The investigation group acquired data relating to his whereabouts from the three individuals who had been arrested on Wednesday evening.
“The trio left the flat in Kakkanad early Wednesday morning together with Martin. Although we might catch his pals from Mundoor on Wednesday evening, Martin managed to flee. We got here to know that he took shelter within the forest and combed the world for hours,” stated the officer. Martin was delivered to Kochi by midnight. “Because the arrest was made on Thursday night, we’ve got to provide him earlier than the courtroom solely by Friday night. We’ve sufficient time to query him.
We’ve to search out the involvement of different individuals within the crime,” stated the officer. The three individuals arrested earlier — Dhanesh, 29, Sreerag, 27, and John Pleasure, 28, all belonging to Thrissur — shuttled Martin between Thrissur and Kochi continuously to flee the police web. Questioning revealed that they helped Martin by shifting him from one location to a different after search was intensified on Monday.
Two-wheeler, three automobiles used to assist Martin flee seized
“They had been his intimate pals. They not solely supplied a hiding place, however organized transportation services as effectively to flee from the police. Ever because the police issued a lookout discover and the matter hit the headlines, these three have been serving to him. They’re stated to have a number of secure havens in Thrissur and Kochi,” stated C Nagaraju, metropolis police commissioner. The police additionally seized a two-wheeler and three automobiles — a BMW, an Innova and a Swift — wherein they had been travelling.
Whereas Dhanesh helped Martin prepare a flat in Kochi, Sreerag and John took care of his transportation and meals. Martin was lacking because the lady filed a grievance with town police on April 8. The police managed to gather the CCTV footage of Martin from an condominium in Kakkanad. “We carried out shock inspections in a number of areas in Thrissur district. We’ve acquired data that different pals too had been serving to him throughout today,” stated a police officer.
