An on-duty Tamil Nadu police officer was shot dead by two people near the Padathalamoodu check post near Kaliyikkavila in Kanyakumari on Wednesday night.
The incident occurred at around 10 pm on Wednesday. According to reports, the deceased cop has been identified as Special Sub Inspector Wilson of Marthandam in Tamil Nadu. He was stationed near the check post for vehicle checks when a man got down from a Mahindra Scorpio that was stopped and opened fire. The check post is on the border of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The assailants shot three rounds on Wilson with a pistol. Even though he was rushed to a private hospital by fellow police officers, he succumbed.
Following Wilson’s death, the Tamil Nadu and Kerala police have launched a massive coordinated search operation to nab the assailants. According to the Tamil Nadu police, the main suspects are two men from Kanyakumari, Abdul Shameem (25) and Thoufeeq Yusuf (27). It is not known if the men are affiliated to any group, however Tamil Nadu police confirmed to TNM that the two men were both wanted by the National Investigation Agency. The Kerala police has also issued a look out notice against the 2 suspects.
Abdul Shameem and Thoufeeq
Speaking to TNM, a senior police official from Kanyakumari district says, "Special Sub-inspector Wilson was shot by two men last night. These two are already under our radar and are actually wanted by the National Investigaton Agency. We had already unearthed several evidences to point to their location. The Kerala police too is investigating the matter."
"We were informed by the Tamil Nadu police in the morning that these two men are suspected to have shot Wilson. We are searching for them in Kerala. However, there is a possibility that they went back to Tamil Nadu, as there is some CCTV footage which indicates that. Initially, there was a confusion with regard to the number of the vehicle and the TN police thought the vehicle belonged to a man called Rajkumar. But later they informed us that the two suspects are Shameem and Thoufeeq," B Ashokan Thiruvananthapuram Rural SP told TNM.
Tirunelveli Range DIG, Praveen Kumar Abhinapu told TOI that the Tamil Nadu police will be coordinating with their counterparts in Kerala as the vehicle may have left for Thiruvananthapuram.
Three teams have been formed to nab the assailants and more teams will be added as per requirement.
Thiruvananthapuram Rural SP B Ashokan said that the Neyyatinkkara police sub division as well as all patrol teams have been alerted.
According to reports, the deceased Wilson was set to retire from the force in five months. He had been hospitalised for two months following an accident and had only rejoined the police force four days ago.
This story is a developing one and will be updated.