The ongoing investigation into the murder of Imtiaz Khan, a young businessman in the city, has brought to fore new patterns in the crime scene in the city.
It was established early in the investigation that Imtiaz was tortured to death as part of a turf war between rival goonda gangs in the city.
But now the action has shifted to Aroor, which remains sandwiched between the jurisdiction of Kochi and Alappuzha police forces.
The battle to gain supremacy of the area, with its real estate deals and drug trafficking networks, seemed to have spilled over to the city.
With the police in hot pursuit of the leads, available information points to Imtiaz Khan’s close proximity to goonda leader Naseer, known as ‘Bhai’ Naseer. The latter had gone into hiding after leading an assault in Aluva while he was out on bail in another case. One of the clear leads that the investigation team is working on is whether Imtiaz was tortured to give details on Naseer. The investigators have confirmed that Activator, the company that Imtiaz Khan floated along with Naseer, was involved in land filling activities and real estate.
Being in the grey area of the police’s jurisdictional priorities makes Aroor and neighbouring areas on the southern-most tip of the district, a favourite spot for anti-social activities.
