KOZHIKUDE: A 71-year-old man, allegedly involved in robbing a KSRTC bus ticket collection at gunpoint at Thiruvambady here, was arrested from Mysuru in Karnataka after remaining absconding for 36 years, police said on Sunday.

The accused, identified as V K Jose, a native of Arikode in Malappuram district, had allegedly been living under the assumed identity of Shivakumar at Narasimharaja in Mysuru.

According to police, in 1990, Jose allegedly pointed a gun at the conductor of a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus plying between Thiruvambady and Koombara and robbed the ticket collection.

The Thiruvambady police had registered a robbery case but failed to trace him, following which a court issued a warrant for his arrest.

Police said Jose fled to Mysuru after the incident, assumed a new identity, got married and raised a family there.

According to police, a domestic dispute between Jose and his wife on July 8 led to police intervention.

During a search of the house, the Mysuru police allegedly recovered a gun from beneath his bed along with certain documents.

When questioned about the weapon and the documents, Jose failed to provide satisfactory explanations, police said.

The Mysuru police then shared the details with the Kerala police, who verified his criminal history and confirmed that he was wanted in the 1990 robbery case.

A team from the Thiruvambady police subsequently reached the Narasimharaja police station in Mysuru and took Jose into custody.

He was later brought to Thiruvambady and remanded in judicial custody, police added.