Kochi: The city police investigating the robbery at a rented house in Palarivattom arrested one more accused in the case on Saturday.
The gang allegedly broke into a rented house occupied by migrants near Samskara Junction on Sept 12 and robbed the occupants of cash, mobile phones and gold ornaments. The police recovered all 10 mobile phones and part of the stolen cash. A financial dispute involving approximately Rs 2 lakh had arisen between the parties around eight months prior to the incident.
The investigation has revealed that two of the accused and the victims were business partners, according to the police.
The police said the accused was arrested from Palakkad. With this, all seven accused in the case have been arrested within a week, said the police. The police said they cannot disclose the accused’s name or other identifying details at present, as an identification parade involving the victims is yet to be conducted. After the identification parade is completed, the police will seek custody of all seven accused, said a senior officer. The police said the robbery was allegedly planned by two men, who then hired a five-member gang.
The other six accused are in judicial custody at Kakkanad district jail. Those arrested include Keralites as well as migrants from other states. They had been involved in an illegal business activity in the city. Subsequently, when the victims started a new illegal business activity at Pipeline Road within the limits of Palarivattom police station, the two accused allegedly planned to recover the disputed amount through the dacoity.