LuLu Mall bomb hoax caller held, finally

kochi: Cops finally succeeded in tracing the unidentified caller who had telephoned Lulu Mall authorities on Friday last and demanded a ransom of Rs 75 lakh by claiming that he had placed bombs at three different locations in the mall. Manoj Xavier (39), a native of Kurisingal House at Puthuvype Village and a Gulf returnee, was arrested from his rented house at Kathrikadavu on Thursday evening. He was an accused in the infamous Kottayam Jewellery robbery case in 2011 and had obtained bail.

According to cops, the accused rung up Lulu Mall manager Sheriff at 11.50 pm last Friday and threatened that he had placed bombs at three locations and that he would detonate them if he was not paid Rs 75 lakh. Cops were informed and acting on the directions of ADGP K. Padmakumar IPS and IG M.R. Ajith Kumar, a special police squad had evacuated people from the mall and a thorough check carried out. Meanwhile, the accused made calls to the Lulu mall authorities at regular intervals. The latter in-turn recorded the voice and handed it over to the police.

“We had the voice with us. The caller spoke fluent English and Malayalam. Simultaneously, we checked for similar cases in the past. Then Thripunithura SI Santosh said there was a voice match with another accused in a Jewellery shop in Kottayam two years ago. He was working there then. We also traced the mobile tower location of the caller,” said Commissioner K.J. James.

Manoj had bought a SIM card from a shop near DH ground using a fake Identity proof. He also obtained two mobile phones for exclusively making the ransom call. “The caller had also asked Lulu officials to handover a bag containing the money at various locations in Thrissur but never showed himself sensing that the cops were following. But we traced the vehicle from a list of suspicious vehicle near the area. The address was traced and the accused arrested from his rented house in Kadavantra,” the police officer said.

Manoj, a Gulf returnee, had earlier allegedly committed a daring daylight robbery when he along with his accomplice had decamped with gold ornaments after firing gunshots. He told police that he had earned around Rs 3.6 lakh per month while in Gulf and was struggling to maintain the same luxururious lifestyle after returning here. He was in jail for five months following the gold theft case and later had to sell off his property in Munnar in order to pay for the case.