Harms no one, a poor chap, say locals, has committed theft earlier also: Police

KANNUR: Police said Lijeesh, arrested for stealing 300 sovereigns of gold and cash of Rs one crore from a home in Valapattanam, has committed theft before. The police found Lijeesh is an accused in a robbery that happened at Keecheri in Kannur last year. The police were not able to nab him then.

Lijeesh was caught this time by the fingerprints left during the theft. It was revealed that Lijeesh was behind both when the fingerprints obtained by the police during the theft in Keecheri and the fingerprints obtained from Valapattanam were found to be of the same person. The police have also released the CCTV footage of Lijeesh committing the theft.

The house of Lijeesh is next to the house of Ashraf, where the theft took place in Valapattanam. He is a welder. The theft was committed on November 20 at the house of Ashraf, a wholesale rice trader. 300 sovereigns of gold and Rs one crore were stolen after breaking open the locker in the bedroom. The accused was arrested during an investigation conducted on the clues received during an inspection.

During the inspection, the police dog sniffed in front of the accused' house. The police had been monitoring him, who is Ashraf's neighbor, for the past few days. He was then arrested. The police had suspected from the beginning that someone close to the house and who knew all about Ashraf was behind the robbery.

Lijeesh, who returned from abroad three months ago, sliced open a part of the grill of the window of Ashraf’s house and committed the robbery. Last year, he followed the same way in Keecheri also. Lijeesh stole Rs 4.5 half lakh and 11.5 sovereigns of gold.

The locals are shocked to learn that Lijeesh committed such a robbery. They are surprised that a person who is honest and does not get into trouble with anyone has been arrested in such a big robbery case. The locals said that those who know him closely may know his true nature.

Lijeesh had made a special compartment under the bed in his own house and kept the gold and money in it. The police said that Lijeesh came back to Ashraf's house on the second day after the robbery to take the remaining gold and money. After the arrest of the accused, the police celebrated by distributing laddus at the Valapattanam station. The police and the locals are relieved that the accused in such a big theft case was caught along with the stolen goods.

The city police commissioner and Valapattanam SP responded to the media on the incident. Initially, there was a suspicion that the accused could be someone who had committed a similar crime in the past. CCTV footage and fingerprints from unproven cases were examined. The city police commissioner said the investigation finally reached to Lijeesh.