CCB arrests man absconding for nine years in Surathkal murder case
The City Crime Branch of Mangaluru City Police has arrested a man who had been absconding for nearly nine years in connection with a murder case registered under Surathkal Police Station limits.
The accused, Sufiyan alias Kotreshi (31), was arrested near Shyampur Railway Gate in Bengaluru following a sustained search by police. Investigators said he was allegedly involved in the abduction and murder of a man identified as Sapnan in 2017 along with associates of rowdy-sheeter Saffan Hussain.
According to police, the victim was abducted and assaulted before being murdered by the gang, which later disposed of the body in a forest area near Agumbe.
After the crime, Sufiyan allegedly fled the region and remained on the run for several years, frequently shifting locations between Ballari, Mumbai and parts of Andhra Pradesh.
Police said he eventually settled in Bengaluru under a changed identity as Mohammed Sufiyan Hussain and managed to obtain documents, including an Aadhaar card, a passport and a driving licence.
Investigators also found that the accused had earlier been arrested in 2012 in a murder case registered at Brucepet Police Station in Ballari, in which an elderly woman was killed during a chain-snatching attempt. He had spent about four years in jail before being released on bail.
Police said the accused faces four criminal cases, including murder, extortion and theft. He has been handed over to the Surathkal police for further investigation and was produced before a court for police custody.
