Kochi | A court here on Thursday granted five days' police custody of an accused in the arson attack near a synagogue in Ernakulam Market, with investigators probing suspected terror links.
Ernakulam Judicial First Class Magistrate Abhirami A sent Ebin Paul (32), a native of Puthencruz near here, to police custody for five days.
During the hearing on the custody petition, Paul's counsel submitted that the accused was mentally unwell and taking medication.
The counsel requested that Paul be allowed to take his medicines while in police custody.
The public prosecutor told the court that a detailed investigation was under way to establish the accused's links with others and the motive behind the crime.
The prosecutor also submitted that Paul was allegedly involved in a similar arson attack at a used car showroom in Muvattupuzha and that details related to that case also needed to be collected.
After considering the submissions from both sides, the court granted police custody for five days and directed it to submit a report every 48 hours.
The incident occurred around 2.30 am on October 12, when a fire was set at Blossom Nursery, located in front of the Kadavubhagam synagogue in Ernakulam Market, within the limits of the Kochi Central police station.
According to the investigation, the accused arrived at the spot in a blue car, got out of the vehicle, poured petrol on the nursery and set it on fire.
He allegedly recorded the incident on his mobile phone before fleeing.
Police are investigating whether he carried out attacks on designated targets at the direction of an unidentified person, recorded the incidents and sent the footage in return for payment.
The possibility of payments being made through cryptocurrency is also being examined, police said.
Messages recovered from his phone reportedly referred to Jewish places of worship and attacks in different cities across India.
Investigators are trying to establish the identities of those involved in the communications, their links with the accused and whether the arson was part of an organised operation.
Based on the information gathered, Ernakulam Rural Police searched his rented house in Puthencruz and seized substances including heroin, fentanyl, oxycodone, alprazolam and ketamine.
Central agencies are also examining information related to the suspected international links, police said.
