Thrissur: The hardened criminal who escaped from Tamil Nadu Police custody is suspected to have fled Kerala. Following this, the search for him has been intensified in Tamil Nadu. The Tamil Nadu Crime Branch and Kerala Police are conducting a joint investigation.

The probe is now centred around Balamurugan’s wife, his girlfriend and his associates in Tamil Nadu. Balamurugan escaped on Monday night from in front of Viyyur Central Jail. So far, the police have not obtained any concrete leads about his whereabouts.

Police suspect that Balamurugan used a motorcycle stolen on Tuesday night from a house in Viyyur to escape to Tamil Nadu. However, they have not yet been able to confirm that it was indeed Balamurugan who took the bike. How he managed to cross the state border remains a mystery for investigators.

Meanwhile, a Tamil Nadu police team has reached Thrissur as part of the investigation. Their objective is to collect as much information as possible from local sources.