Japanese police detain final fugitive in Tokyo gas attack

Katsuya Takahashi, center, a former Aum Shinrikyo cult member, is driven to Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department after being arrested, in Tokyo Friday, June 15, 2012. <AP/NEWSis>

TOKYO, June 15 (Xinhua) — Police in Tokyo detained the final fugitive behind a deadly sarin gas attack on Tokyo’s subway about 17 years ago, local media reported on Friday.

Katsuya Takahashi, 54, has been on Japan’s most wanted list for his suspected involvement in the Aum Shinrikyo cult’s lethal attack that killed 13 people and injured more than 6,000 others in downtown Tokyo.

The police will carry out investigations into Takahashi’s role in the cases. His life on the run will also be probed so as to understand how he managed to lead such a life with a large sum of money.

Takahashi’s detention followed the arrest of Naoko Kikuchi, another fugitive wanted allegedly for her role in the gas attack, earlier this month.

The two were reported to have been living together in an apartment in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, from 2001 to around 2006. Takahashi changed his name and worked for a construction company in his years on the run. He was caught by a security camera when he tried to withdraw money from a bank after learning Kikuchi’s arrest.

Thousands of police had been fanned out in the Japanese capital since last week to hunt down the suspect. Police found Takahashi at a comic cafe after receiving a tip-off.

Aum Shinrikyo cult was renamed as Aleph following the cult’s bankruptcy. About 200 members of the cult have been convicted of the gas attack and other crimes. Thirteen, including Shoko Asahara, the chief culprit of the deadly attacks and founder of the cult, are on death row. <Xinhua>

news@theasian.asia