The Thumba police arrested five people on Thursday in connection with the recovery of a cache of country bombs in Kazhakuttam a day ago.
The police identified those apprehended as Santhosh Kumar, 45, Sulfi, 43, Shajahan, 45, all of who hail from Stationkadavu, Shajahan, 18, and Nazeer Rahman, 30, both natives of Assam.
They were caught in connection with the recovery of 12 bombs near the railway track, around 1 km away from the Kazhakuttam railway station, late on Wednesday. The bombs were detected shortly after the Railway Protection Force found four people under suspicious circumstances in the area. While the officials managed to catch one among them, he managed to give them the slip during questioning.
The Thumba police caught the accused from a house where migrant labourers reside in the locality. The police are, however, yet to locate the whereabouts of one Saikumar, the prime accused in the case, a known history-sheeter.
The gang is believed to have stocked the bombs to retaliate against a rival group that had attacked them during a recent festival.