One arrested in Friday’s stabbing

Police have arrested one of the suspects involved in the stabbing of a young man in a shop in Male’ City last weekend.

The young man, identified by police as a 30-year-old Maldivian male, was stabbed inside a shop located near the BG Garage in Maafannu district of Male’ at around 09:30 pm Friday.

According to eye witnesses, the young man had run into the shop, Krasa, to escape his pursuers. Two people on a motorbike arrived shortly afterwards, and stabbed him, leaving him on the floor in a pool of blood.

He sustained critical injuries in the attack and is being treated on a ventilator at the ICU of Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).

Commissioner of Police Mohamed Hameed said that one of the people actively involved in the attack was arrested under court order early Sunday.

A police spokesperson identified the suspect as a 20-year-old Maldivian male.

He has been remanded in custody of the police for 15 days.

The stabbing had come a few hours after two men wearing helmets and masks vandalized Juice Time, a coffee stand in Hulhumale’, using hammers.

The incidents come amid a rise in gang attacks in Male’ in recent weeks. 16 people were arrested in connection to gang violence in Male’ over the last two months. Half of them were released Saturday.

In an interview to Public Service Media on Saturday, CP Hameed the recent string of gang attacks is linked to four criminal gangs. He said that Friday’s stabbing had involved two rival gangs – NC Park and Kuda Henveiru.