Kochi pursuit ends in fatal accident: Teen wanted for mugging dies in fourth-floor fall

KOCHI: An 18-year-old youth, wanted in connection with a recent mugging incident, died after falling from the fourth floor of a lodge here while attempting to evade law enforcement officers. While a 17-year-old accomplice has been apprehended, a search is underway for a third suspect who managed to flee the scene.

The deceased has been identified as Muhammed Sahil, a resident of Nellukadavu in Fort Kochi.
According to the police, the incident occurred at the Hala Residency Lodge located near the Ernakulam North overbridge, where the trio had been hiding out. On spotting a police vehicle arriving outside the premises, Muhammed Sahil and the juvenile panicked and rushed to the fourth floor. In a bid to escape, Muhammed Sahil attempted to conceal himself on a sunshade but lost his footing, falling onto the pedestrian walkway leading to the nearby Paramara Temple.

He was initially rushed to the Ernakulam General Hospital and later transferred to a private medical facility in Vyttila, where he succumbed to his injuries at around 3:00 PM on Monday.

The police tracking net was deployed following a robbery reported at around 3:45 AM on Sunday near Kammattippadam. The gang had allegedly ambushed Adithyaraj (21), a logistics student hailing from Kuttoor, Pathanamthitta, while he was crossing the railway tracks near the KSRTC bus stand. The suspects reportedly assaulted him with a stone before fleeing with his mobile phone, valued at ₹25,000.

During a subsequent search of the lodge room occupied by the suspects, law enforcement personnel recovered the stolen mobile phone along with several forged Aadhaar cards. Investigators noted that all three individuals have a prior history of involvement in multiple theft offences and had previously been detained at a Borstal school.

The apprehended 17-year-old was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board and has been remanded to a Borstal school. Parallel investigations are currently underway, with the Kadavanthra police handling the robbery case and the Ernakulam North police probing the unnatural death.