Kochi: Perumbavoor police on Monday arrested an Odisha native wanted by the Dharmashala police on charge of killing a woman and physically abusing her daughter a month ago, from a plywood company near Allapra. The accused Bijaykumar Behera was handed over to a four-member police team from Dharmashala led by Inspector Sarojkumar Sahu.
According to police, the accused had committed the crime of May 2 at Dharmashala police station limits. "The accused along with his friend Vicky brutally abused the girl in front of her mother for refusing to withdraw a rape case against the former. They also murdered the mother who tried to stop them," a police officer said. The accused had earlier been released on bail for the case pertaining to the sexual abuse against the same girl, they said.
Vicky was arrested soon after the incident, but Behera managed to evade the police and fled to Chennai where he stayed for a few days. He then travelled to Kerala by road and reached Perumbavoor where he found job at a plywood factory near Allapra.
On receiving information that the accused was residing in the Aluva rural region, the police gathered further intelligence and traced him to the plywood industry. A police team led by Perumbavoor SI Lysad Muhammad, along with the Odisha police officials, arrested the accused.
According Perumbavoor Deputy Superintendent of Police P.C. Haridasan, there are instances of criminal taking up jobs in plywood companies in the area. He said inspections will be conducted at the worksites to ensure that the companies are keeping a register with the complete details of the workers.
"More than hundred plywood companies and crushers are functioning in the area," he said. "The details of all the workers will be collected and compiled at the police stations concerned. The registers that are already at the police stations would be updated."
Mr Haridasan said strict instructions have been given to all company owners to keep copies of the workers' identity cards such as Aadhaar or electoral IDs. They were also instructed to intimate the police if anyone leaving the place. "But as of now, only a few of them follow it and report to the police," he said.
