THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vanchiyoor police have arrested four members of a gang who tried to kill a youth in Sreekanteswaram during Attukal Pongala. The arrested have been identified as Santhosh Velayudhan (37), who is a goonda leader and accused in several criminal cases, and his accomplices Sanal (38), Vanchiyoor native called Sandeep, Vijayakumar (39) and Subhash (37).

The arrested were produced in the Vanchiyoor court on Thursday evening and remanded. The police team found weapons including a machete used for attack in the presence of the arrested. A rented car was used for the attack. After the incident, the car, which was left near Edapazhinji, was shifted to the Vanchiyoor police station. The police informed that the four people who directly participated in the incident, including the driver, are yet to be arrested and the search for them has been intensified. The police said that if there is a conspiracy behind the crime, more people will be arraigned. The attack was on Satheesh Kumar alias Luttapi (54), who was accused in earlier cases at the Vanchiyoor police station. He sustained cuts including on his head, and is undergoing treatment at a private hospital. Santhosh was injured as Satheesh tried defend the attacks.

On Tuesday afternoon, a group in an Innova car tried to kill Satheesh during an 'annadanam' (food offering) at the NSS Karayogam campus near the Sreekandeswaram temple. The police clarified that the reason behind the murder attempt was for not settling a case related to the dispute between the two regarding financial dealings. According to the police, Satheesh was involved in crimes in the past but there were no recent cases against him. The food donation at the Karayogam Mandir was led by Satish, who was also the in-charge of the Residents Association of the area. A forensic team arrived at the scene on Wednesday afternoon and collected scientific evidence. The four accused were arrested during the investigation conducted under the supervision of City Police Commissioner CH Nagaraju. The police informed that the other accused will be arrested soon.