A 1999 gangland killing that shook the state capital

A bomb exploded in front of the Attakulangara sub-jail. It was a gangland hit that shook the entire state.

- VARSHA SOMARAJ

JULY 16, 1999. The victim, LTT Kabeer, a notorious gangster, was under police escort when he was taken out with brutal precision by Karate Farooq and his gang.

The visuals that followed still haunt the memory of police officials and locals alike. Kabeer's mangled body lay in a pool of blood with his head shattered. Two policemen escorting him were also injured.

"At the time, Kabeer was infamous for killing local gangster Jacky Thaha and ASI Krishnankutty. His name carried weight on the streets. He was seen as someone willing to go to any lengths. Like the LTTE, he fashioned himself as a man of no limits. Word spread that his next targets were a police officer and a businessman in Vettucaud. That's when Karate Farooq entered the picture, as a hired hand, brought in to take Kabeer down," recalls a retired IG who wishes to remain anonymous.