Father-son duo escapes from police custody in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A father-son duo escaped from police custody on Sunday morning. Kulathupuzha natives Syedali, 22, and his father Ayoob Khan, 60, were accused of robbing three shops in Palode. They were caught from Sulthan Bathery in Wayanad on Saturday, and were being brought back to Palode by the police when the duo escaped near Kadakkal, Kollam. The accused said that they wanted to urinate while coming back early on Sunday morning, by around 4 am. The duo immediately escaped when the vehicle stopped at Cherukulam in Kadakkal, police officers said. Even though the police tried to chase them down, the duo could not be caught. They have been charges with fleeing police custody. The area from where they escaped has forest patches, hilly areas, and agricultural fields nearby, making the search a challenging one, police officers said. They also added that Syedali and Ayoob were living in a rented house near Kusavoor, Palode, when they planned the robbery. A native mentioned that the accused were spotted near the Kottukkal agricultural farm, following which the police searched the area, but in vain. Drones and dog squads have been deployed to search in dense forest areas, authorities stated. Cases of a similar nature have been registered against them in different areas. More details cannot be revealed at this point, as the search is on, Nedumangad ASP Achyuth Ashok said. Currently, the search is being jointly carried out by officials of Palode and Kadakkal stations. Palode police informed that the father-son duo had robbed `30,000 and some stationery items from three shops in Palode a week before and went into hiding. The robbery was reported to the police on September 21. Locating the accused was difficult, but the police officials had managed to nab the duo with help of CCTV visuals of the vehicle in which they travelled to Wayanad.