Six year ago, the city witnessed a campaign against criminals, which marked Shaji’s makeover. Shaji then declared that he was quitting the path of crime. Soon, he turned to spirituality and became the disciple of a Muslim religious scholar in Kozhikode, who now faces charges of abetting terror.

A couple of years back, Shaji became the state vice-president of RJD. His art of extortion stood him in good stead during his political life when, for instance, for an RJD meeting Shaji collected thousands of rupees from illegal business outlets at Fort Kochi. Later, he was arrested at Kochi airport, trying to sneak into Sri Lanka using a fake passport. After the LDF Government assumed office, Shaji was jailed under the Goonda Act. He was released recently. Now, Shaji is charged with “converting” the underworld. Many misguided youth were allegedly taken to his one-time guru for being prefixed with the Muslim tag before being sent to Kashmir to pursue terror.