KOYILANDY: Twist in the incident where assailants sprinkled chilli powder on the body and face of Suhail, robbed him of Rs 25 lakhs and tied him inside a car in Kattilpeedika. The police found that the complainant, Suhail (25), was behind the incident. The police have arrested him and his friends Mohammed Taha (27) and Mohammed Yasseru (20). Rs 37 lakh was recovered from Mohammad Taha. The accused were produced before the Koyilandy Judicial First Class Magistrate Court and remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.

The incident took place on Saturday. Suhail, who had gone to fill cash at the ATM, was found by the locals in Kattilpeedika with his hands and feet tied in a car and chilli powder scattered all over his body. Suhail told the locals and the police that he was attacked by two purdah-clad women at Arikkulam Kuridi, tied to a car and robbed of Rs 25 lakh. However, in the complaint lodged at the station, it was mentioned that Rs 72,40,000 was stolen. Following this, the police registered an FIR and the truth came out in the investigation conducted.

Months of planning

It was a plan devised by Mohammad Thaha months ago that led to the robbery. The money was stolen to solve financial problem. The police had found that Suhail had Rs 62 lakh in hand to fill the ATM. Vadakara SP Nitin Raj told the media that the contradictions in Suhail's statements, the medical examination and the alertness of the police helped in finding the accused quickly. A fourth person was also involved in the incident, he added. Meantime, the ATM operators have come forward with a complaint in this regard.

Special squad for investigation

The investigation is led by Vadakara DySP Hariprasad and is headed by CI Srilal Chandrasekharan. A special squad has been formed to investigate the matter. The team consisted of CI Manoj Ramath, ASIs V C Bineesh and V V Shaji, SCPOs P K Shobhit and E K Akhilesh, ASI Gireesh of Koyilandy station, Biju Vaniyamkulam and Saneesh.