Kerala police arrested a local goonda Mahdi Shemeem (Chandy Shameem-42), after he beat up an inspector inside his police station, escaped, threatened to hack off the arms of police/army officers who were tracking him, and attacked uniformed police officers in full public view when he was located. The suspect arrived wearing a purdah and set several vehicles on fire inside the police station compound. The incident happened in Valapattanam town in CM Pinarayi Vijayan’s Kannur district.

There are 23 cases against Shemeem, including violent ones, and he was earlier booked under the supposedly stringent (Kerala Anti-social Activities Prevention Act) KAAPA Act. He is a suspect in drug and gangster cases and regularly challenges our legal system through social media.

On Tuesday, Shameem and his brother Shamseen reached the police station and opposed their constant vigil. There was an altercation following which the brothers attacked duty policemen and injured Sub Inspector P K Santhosh and another policeman. 

When the officers subdued Shamseen, Shameem escaped from the police station and took off on his two-wheeler. Valapattanam police arrested Shamseen. Shameem reached the station again around 3.30 am dressed in purdah and set fire to seized vehicles. Several vehicles, including Shameem’s confiscated luxury SUV, were gutted in the fire. CCTV cameras installed there confirmed the crime.

Valapattanam police, led by senior police officers from Kannur, started searching for the goonda early in the morning, but he could not be found. Meanwhile, Shameem insulted Kerala police and posted vile comments on his Facebook page. 

I will chop off the arms of those who dared touch my brother, be it police or the army, Shameem noted. The goonda stated that the vehicles were set on fire in protest against the arrest and beating of his brother. 

Shameem was caught at Kottakunnil near his house yesterday morning at eleven in the search conducted with the help of the cyber cell. Police surrounded the building and called for backup. They were seen having a hard time trying to overpower the goonda. 

Shameem cried out loud after being arrested and handcuffed. He lamented to the waiting media cameras that the policemen ripped out his beard. 

City Police Commissioner Ajith Kumar said that the security lapse would be investigated. The accused was remanded. A jeep, a car, and a bike were utterly gutted, while another car and a scooter were partially destroyed in the fire.

Experts opined that our legal system would bail out Shameen, and he will again indulge in violent crimes. By freeing such hardened criminals, our justice system is not doing our security personnel any favors.

Any chance of conviction for the crime that led to his vehicle’s seizure has now turned to dust. Such goondas are known to run their evil empire from inside and outside the jail with help from their political masters.

Earlier, Shameem had openly challenged the police on social media and was arrested from his den in Kannur. More videos of his violence are available here, where he and his gang members are heard shouting Bolo Takbeer Allahu Akbar while attacking security personnel.

There are several such goondas in Kannur. It is reported that they thrive on support from local communist leaders and drug-running gangs. There are allegations that Shameem has links with terror outfits.