The Crime Branch, on Wednesday, arrested P. Abdul Salam (33) of Malappuram on the charges of murdering an 80-year-old woman. It was on October 14, 2013 that the woman was found strangled to death at her house in Kottakkal. The gold ornaments she wore were found missing.
Though the local police conducted the probe for nearly a year, it could not locate the suspect.
Finally, the case was handed over to the Crime Branch in June 2014.
The special investigation team traced Abdul Salam after several rounds of searches conducted in cities such as Bengaluru, Goa, Mangalore, Coimbatore, Erode and Chennai. Police officials said the man was finally tracked from Erode Railway station following a tip-off received by Malappuram District Police Superintendent Debesh Kumar Behera.
Involved in several cases
A Crime Branch official said the man was involved in several cases registered in the limits of Koyilandy, Karipur and Parappanangadi stations.
“The gold ornaments he had stolen after murdering the woman had been sold at a shop in Erode,” he said.
The Crime Branch team was led by Superintendent of Police K.B. Venugopal.
