RJ Rajesh murder case: prime suspect held

The prime suspect in the murder of former radio jockey Rajesh alias Rasikan Rajesh was taken into custody on Tuesday.

Salih bin Jalal alias Ali Bhai was apprehended soon after he landed in the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport from Qatar by around 9 a.m.

Having gained custody of the accused, the police team led by Kilimanoor Circle Inspector V.S. Pradeep Kumar were on their way to the office of the Attingal Deputy Superintendent of Police, where he will be questioned and possibly, be arrested late in the evening.

The police had earlier issued look-out notices at all airports and other transit points across the country. The special investigation team had also contacted the Interpol through the Union Ministry of Home Affairs as well as Ali Bhai’s sponsor in Qatar to secure his custody.

Besides Ali Bhai, the police have also been making efforts to extradite Abdul Sathar, a Qatar-based businessman, who is suspected to have hired the ‘quotation gang’ led by Ali Bhai.

The findings of the probe had strengthened the suspicion of the murder having been spurred by an extramarital affair that Rajesh had with a dance teacher, who was the ex-wife of Abdul Sathar.

Rajesh had returned to Kerala only a few months ago after quitting his job as an RJ in a radio station in Qatar.

The police had earlier arrested three persons in connection with the case. While those arrested did not have a direct role in the murder, they have been accused of harbouring the prime suspects and assisting them in executing the crime.

Rajesh was hacked to death on March 27, a short while after he and his friend Kuttan had returned to his recording studio at Madavoor, near Kilimanoor. Ali Bhai was soon found to have fled to Kathmandu with the help of his accomplices before managing to travel to Qatar.