Panampilly Nagar theft: 'Dangerous robber' Irshad previously ransacked house in Kowdiar

KOCHI: Muhammad Irshad, who was arrested for committing a high-scale theft in film director Joshiy’s house, is a habitual offender who has previously served jail terms for crimes including robbery.

According to reports, Irshad committed theft at the residence of a jewellery shop owner in Thiruvananthapuram Kowdiar almost four years back. In the same case, Irshad was arrested from Goa. However, the accused couldn’t be handed over to the Kerala police due to the restrictions introduced by the pandemic.

Albeit coming out from jail, Irshad went back to old ways and regaled a life of theft, robbery and deception. According to police details, Irshad is dangerously adept in furtively getting inside houses and conducting robberies.

It was on Saturday dawn that the accused committed a grand-scale robbery at Joshiy’s residence in Panampilly Nagar. He then left Kochi in a Maharashtra registration car. Kerala police later handed over the pictures of the car to the Karnataka police which helped to easily arrest the culprit.

Gold, diamonds and watches worth more than one crore rupees were stolen. Police placed all doubts on the robbers hailing from northern India to be behind the crime. Local ruffians and recently released thieves were under investigation, which was conducted under the leadership of Ernakulam Assistant Police Commissioner P. Rajkumar.

Joshiy, his wife, daughter-in-law and children were in the house when the robbery took place. At 5:30 am, Joshiy’s wife Sindhu found the kitchen door open and felt dubious. It was later that the robbery was confirmed and a complaint was registered at the South police station by Joshiy’s son Abhilash.