Kerala Police use AI image to track killer in 2001 case

Kozhikode: Police said the use of an AI-generated, age-progressed image proved crucial in tracking down a man who had been absconding for nearly 25 years after allegedly murdering his wife at Edacheri.Ayadatil Jameela was found dead at her husband's house on September 8, 2001. While her death was initially treated as suspicious, a post-mortem examination later confirmed that she had been strangled. The subsequent investigation identified her husband, Hameed, as the prime accused. However, he went into hiding soon after this incident and remained untraceable for over two decades.The breakthrough came this week when Kerala Police apprehended him from Kasaragod on Saturday, finally bringing a long-pending case closer to closure.According to officers at Edacheri police station, Hameed had been hiding in a colony at Adiyur near Bovikkanam in Kasaragod. During this period, he had reportedly remarried, started a new family and was working as a fish vendor, successfully evading detection for years.Investigators said that a combination of fresh information and technological intervention led to his arrest. "We received information that the accused was staying somewhere in Kasaragod. Along with other leads, an AI-modified image created from his old photograph helped us visualize how he might look now. That played a key role in identifying him and placing him under surveillance," said an officer at Edachery police station.Police also revealed that there had been earlier, unverified leads suggesting his presence in Kasaragod. "At one point, a person from his native place reported having seen him there. We pursued the lead, but he could not be traced at the time," the officer added.Jameela's son had been leading the fight to get justice for his mother. It was his two brothers who had found their mother lying dead in her prayer dress. Hameed was not at home then and by the time post-mortem was done, he had gone into hiding.