Last fugitive of Japan's doomsday cult arrested
Source: Agencies |
June 16, 2012, Saturday
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POLICE yesterday arrested the last fugitive suspected in a doomsday cult's deadly nerve gas attack on Tokyo subways 17 years ago, ending one of Japan's longest manhunts and closing a chapter on the worst terrorist attack in the country's history.
Katsuya Takahashi, the former bodyguard for the Aum Shinrikyo cult leader, was tracked down at a comic book cafe in downtown Tokyo. He admitted who he was when approached by police.
Takahashi had been on Japan's most wanted list for years for his suspected role in the sarin gas attack on Tokyo subways that killed 13 people and injured about 6,000 in 1995.
According to media reports, he worked for a construction company and avoided capture by using a fake name, wearing a surgical mask at work and seeking assignments that didn't involve meeting people.
His trail had been cold for years, but it heated up after the June 3 arrest of another cult fugitive, Naoko Kikuchi, who reportedly lived with Takahashi for a time and had information about him. .
Takahashi disappeared from his job after Kikuchi's arrest, but an employee at the comic book cafe where he was arrested told a TV talk show yesterday that he had visited the shop several times recently.
A cafe employee recognized Takahashi and called police, a Tokyo police spokeswoman said. Police arrested Takahashi on suspicion of murder, she said.
TV footage showed a huge crowd outside the cafe, trying to catch a glimpse of the last cult fugitive. Public broadcaster NHK showed a thin, bespectacled Takahashi being pushed into a police car.
The 54-year-old's appearance has changed greatly - in particular, his trademark bushy eyebrows have become much thinner. He was arrested after being taken to a nearby police station, then transferred to Tokyo police headquarters for interrogation, police said.
The manhunt was one of the longest ever in Japan. Nobuko Shigenobu, a former Red Army extremist, was on the run for 26 years from 1974 until her arrest in 2000.
The Aum cult had amassed an arsenal of chemical, biological and conventional weapons in anticipation of an apocalyptic showdown with the government.
Nearly 200 cult members have been convicted in the 1995 attack and dozens of other crimes. Thirteen, including cult guru Shoko Asahara, are on death row.
Katsuya Takahashi, the former bodyguard for the Aum Shinrikyo cult leader, was tracked down at a comic book cafe in downtown Tokyo. He admitted who he was when approached by police.
Takahashi had been on Japan's most wanted list for years for his suspected role in the sarin gas attack on Tokyo subways that killed 13 people and injured about 6,000 in 1995.
According to media reports, he worked for a construction company and avoided capture by using a fake name, wearing a surgical mask at work and seeking assignments that didn't involve meeting people.
His trail had been cold for years, but it heated up after the June 3 arrest of another cult fugitive, Naoko Kikuchi, who reportedly lived with Takahashi for a time and had information about him. .
Takahashi disappeared from his job after Kikuchi's arrest, but an employee at the comic book cafe where he was arrested told a TV talk show yesterday that he had visited the shop several times recently.
A cafe employee recognized Takahashi and called police, a Tokyo police spokeswoman said. Police arrested Takahashi on suspicion of murder, she said.
TV footage showed a huge crowd outside the cafe, trying to catch a glimpse of the last cult fugitive. Public broadcaster NHK showed a thin, bespectacled Takahashi being pushed into a police car.
The 54-year-old's appearance has changed greatly - in particular, his trademark bushy eyebrows have become much thinner. He was arrested after being taken to a nearby police station, then transferred to Tokyo police headquarters for interrogation, police said.
The manhunt was one of the longest ever in Japan. Nobuko Shigenobu, a former Red Army extremist, was on the run for 26 years from 1974 until her arrest in 2000.
The Aum cult had amassed an arsenal of chemical, biological and conventional weapons in anticipation of an apocalyptic showdown with the government.
Nearly 200 cult members have been convicted in the 1995 attack and dozens of other crimes. Thirteen, including cult guru Shoko Asahara, are on death row.
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