Man absconding for 29 years in attempt-to-murder case arrested in Keralam’s Kannur

A 51-year-old man who had been absconding for 29 years after securing bail in an attempt-to-murder case and subsequently fleeing abroad was arrested by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Kannur City Police in Keralam on Monday.The accused, Thayakath Fazal (51), a native of Meenkunnu in Azhikode, was arrested in Kannur town. Fazal was wanted in connection with an attempt-to-murder case registered over the attack on Azhikode native Sunil Kumar with a deadly weapon near the Azhikode Lighthouse on January 3, 1997. Following the incident, the Valapattanam police arrested Fazal and remanded him in judicial custody. He was later released on bail but fled abroad.He spent several years working and living in Dubai before moving to Poland. For the past five years, he had been working and residing in Ireland. As Fazal repeatedly failed to appear before the court, he was declared a proclaimed offender in 2002.The arrest followed an investigation conducted by the SIT formed under the direction of Kannur Range DIG K. Karthik and led by Kannur City Police Commissioner Vijaya Bharat Reddy.During the investigation, the team found that the house and property where Fazal and his family had lived at the time of the incident had since been sold and that the family had relocated. A detailed probe enabled the police to trace his new place of residence and establish that he had been living and working abroad for several years.While conducting surveillance and gathering intelligence, the team received information that Fazal was planning to return to his hometown, prompting the police to intensify their monitoring. Fazal arrived in Kerala from Ireland on September 6, 2026, and was taken into custody by the investigation team in Kannur town. Published - September 08, 2026 03:50 pm IST