A team of the Central Bureau of Investigation probing the Abdul Hakeem murder case in Payyannur in February 2014 has arrested four persons. The arrested were identified as K. Abdul Salam, 72, K.P. Abdul Nasar, 54, A. Ismail, 48, and Muhammad Rafeekh, 45.
The first three were former functionaries of the Kotti Juma Masjid committees. They were arrested on April 5 and produced in the CBI court in Kochi. Rafeekh, who was involved in sand-smuggling, was arrested on Thursday and was produced in the court, an officer in the probe team said. The charred body of Hakeem was found near a local madrasa building at Kotti, near Payyannur, on February 10, 2014.
An employee of the Kotti Juma Masjid, Hakeem had converted to Islam from Hinduism 14 years ago.
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As per the CBI, the murder was motivated by a dispute over money dealings in connection with a chit business run by the mosque building committee. Hakeem was involved in the chit business run by the committee.
The CBI officer said Abdul Salam, Abdul Nasar, and Muhammad Rafeekh were in CBI custody. The CBI team would receive Rafeekh in custody on Friday. The case was handed over to the CBI following a directive of the High Court in September 2015 on a writ petition filed by C.K. Zeenath, the wife of the deceased.