MANGALURU: The City Crime Branch (CCB) police have arrested a key accused who had been absconding for nearly nine years in connection with the abduction and murder of a man reported in 2017 under the limits of Surathkal Police Station. The accused was traced and arrested near Shampur Railway Gate in DJ Halli area of Bengaluru.
The arrested accused has been identified as Sufiyan alias Kotreshi (31), a native of Ballari. Police said he had been living in Bengaluru under a false identity for several years after evading arrest in the murder case.
According to investigators, Sufiyan was an associate of a notorious rowdy sheeter, Safwan Hussain. In 2017, Sufiyan, along with Safwan Hussain and other accomplices, allegedly abducted a man identified as Leppi Safwan within the jurisdiction of Surathkal police station. The victim was reportedly assaulted and later murdered. Police said the accused then disposed of the body in the forested area of Agumbe Ghat in an attempt to destroy evidence.
After committing the crime, Sufiyan allegedly went into hiding and managed to evade arrest by frequently moving between different states. Investigators said he stayed in places including Kalaburagi, Ballari, Mumbai and Rayachoti in Andhra Pradesh before eventually settling in Bengaluru.
Police said the accused later changed his identity in order to avoid detection. He changed his name from Sufiyan to Mohammed Hussain and obtained official documents such as an Aadhaar card, passport, and driving licence under the new name. Using these documents, he was reportedly living in Bengaluru and had even married a local woman while concealing his criminal past.
Investigations revealed that the accused had a criminal background even before the 2017 murder case. In 2012, under the jurisdiction of Brucepet Police Station, he allegedly snatched a gold chain from an elderly woman. When the woman reportedly recognised him during the incident, he allegedly strangled her to death to prevent his identity from being exposed.
He was arrested in that case and spent nearly four years in jail in Ballari. Police said that during his time in prison, he came into contact with Safwan Hussain and other members of a criminal network. Investigators believe that these contacts helped him later become part of the gang involved in various criminal activities.
After securing bail with the help of these associates, Kotreshi reportedly converted from Hinduism to Islam and adopted the name Sufiyan. Police suspect that the change in identity and religion was used as a way to distance himself from his past criminal record and avoid being easily traced by authorities.
Following his release, he allegedly joined Safwan Hussain’s gang and later moved to Mangaluru where he was involved in criminal activities. In 2017, he was also linked to an extortion case registered under the jurisdiction of Bajpe Police Station, where a person was allegedly threatened and forced to pay money.
Apart from this, a motorcycle theft case has also been registered against him under the jurisdiction of Hosapete Police Station.
According to Sudheer Kumar Reddy, a total of four criminal cases have been registered against the accused, including the Surathkal murder case, the Ballari elderly woman murder case, a bike theft case in Hosapete and an extortion case in Bajpe.
Police said further investigation is underway to trace other accused involved in the murder and to gather additional evidence related to the criminal network.
