A 32-year-old man from Kozhikode was arrested on Sunday in connection with an attempted burglary at the residence of a senior judicial officer in Wayanad’s Mananthavady. The accused, identified as Ajmal of Nadapuram in Kozhikode district, was arrested following an investigation by the Mananthavady police.
The incident occurred on the night of June 27 at the residence of R Anitha, Senior Civil Judge and Secretary of the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), at Thonichal near Mananthavady. According to the police, Ajmal entered the compound after cutting through the iron grill enclosing the work area and then attempted to force open the kitchen door. The judge and her husband, Advocate P V Rajesh Kumar, were awakened by suspicious noises from the rear of the house. When they switched on the lights, the intruder fled, leaving behind his bag and helmet inside the compound.
Police said the accused had carefully planned the break-in. He covered all but one of the CCTV cameras installed on the premises with pieces of cloth to avoid identification. However, the uncovered camera captured footage of him, though his face was partially concealed.
Investigators said Ajmal later returned to the house to retrieve the bag and helmet he had abandoned. During this brief visit, the judge and her husband got a clear view of his face, providing investigators with a crucial lead.
A special investigation team led by Mananthavady Station House Officer P Rafeeq and Sub-Inspector K K Sobin examined CCTV footage from nearby houses, commercial establishments and junctions. The team also tracked footage from various locations in Kozhikode and Kannur districts to trace the suspect’s escape route, eventually identifying and apprehending him in Nadapuram. Cops described Ajmal as a habitual offender with several criminal cases registered against him at police stations under the Kozhikode Rural Police limits, as well as at the Mananthavady and Thondernad police stations.
As part of the investigation, the accused was taken to the judge’s residence on Sunday for evidence collection before being produced before a court, which remanded him to judicial custody. Police said further investigation is underway to determine whether Ajmal was involved in other house-breaking cases in the region and whether he had conducted prior surveillance of the judge’s residence before attempting the burglary.
