Lijeesh refused to confess even after continuous grilling, but had no other way in front of burnt things

KANNUR: The police arrested the accused in the Valapattanam theft case that shocked Kerala on the 12th day of the incident. The theft was committed on November 20 but the incident came to light after four days. So, finding evidence posed a bit of a challenge for the police.

Lijeesh lives next to the house where the theft took place. The police questioned 215 people, including Lijeesh, in the initial phase of the case. The investigation team examined CCTV footage from Kozhikode to Bengaluru and 63 old cases of similar housebreaking. Finally, footage of the accused leaving the room was obtained. Later, further investigation focused on this.

Lijeesh entered the house of neighboring wholesale rice trader twice to steal. Both at the same time. With this, the police understood that a person who knew the house well and was sure that no one would come to the house anytime soon was behind the theft. The police then starting noticing his moves.

The visuals of Lijeesh were not clear in the CCTV. The investigation team shared the footage with many people in the country to understand his body language. That is how some people reporting that this figure has similarities with Lijeesh.

Another important piece of evidence was the T-shirt that Lijeesh was wearing at the time of the crime. Those who had seen the same T-shirt before also shared information about it.

When things became clearer, the police came to his house and tactically brought him to the police station. The accused did not cooperate with the police in the initial stage of the interrogation. Finally, the T-shirt and parts of the glove that he had burned near the house were brought and shown. The thief was caught when his fingerprints matched.

Lijeesh hid the stolen gold and money in a specially erected room in the bedroom. Lijeesh, who was in the Gulf, returned home and was doing welding work. The police informed that he turned to theft later.