After the Thiruvananthapuram district police chief received information that weapons were being stockpiled in a house, the District Anti-Narcotics Special Action Force (DANSAF) team and the police, who inspected the house, found deadly weapons and deer antlers. The accused (in many criminal cases) was caught with equipment for making weapons and air guns. Vithura Naas House Shafiq (35), known as Chittar Shafiq, was arrested.
The suspect was caught during an investigation conducted by the Dansaf team based on secret information received by District Police Chief (Thiruvananthapuram Rural) Kiran Narayan that weapons were being manufactured in his house.
Police said he was a habitual criminal in the Vithura-Kallar area and was accused of several criminal cases. That included attempted murder and narcotic drug dealing in various stations of the district. Shafiq, who was recently jailed in the case of vandalizing a car in Vithura and throwing a bomb at a house, was released from jail two months ago.
Following the information received by the District Police Chief, the Dansaf team had been monitoring Shafiq’s house and surroundings for a few days. A raid conducted yesterday under the leadership of Valiyamala Inspector Shivakumar and Dansaf Sub-Inspector Shibu surrounded Shafiq’s house. Police found a room on the first floor of the two-story house being used for manufacturing weapons.
Apart from several explosives and ammunition, various types of lethal weapons and airguns were confiscated. Shafiq himself manufactured these explosives and guns. Grinders and cutting machines for producing these weapons were found in the room.
Deer antlers were also recovered from there. After finding the deer antler, the forest department registered a case and took Shafiq into custody. The forest department wanted to know the source of the antlers and decided to investigate whether Shafiq had hunted animals before.
Wild animal attacks in Kerala have become common. Many residents of the high ranges are suspected of arming themselves to protect their crops and families. With illegal manufacturers like Shafiq peddling arms, authorities might find it challenging to keep track of proceedings.
