After information acquired from Naoko Kikuchi on her June 3rd arrest, police investigators successfully tracked the last fugitive from the Aum Shinrikyo cult, Katsuya Takahashi, wanted for the 1995 Tokyo subway gas attack, to his residence and place of work in Kawasaki. On the afternoon of June 4th, police raided his hideout in the dormitory of the construction company he worked for only four hours after he fled. As of Thursday, the police have released a number of images from security cameras showing the 54 year old man repeatedly in different sets of clothes, and going to a bank near his workplace to withdraw 2.38 million yen (approx. $29,860), leaving exactly one yen in the account, leading the belief that he is on the run once more.
Katsuya Takahashi is understood to be using the alias Shinya Sakurai. Police know that it was Takahashi living in the dormitory, as they compared DNA samples with cotton swabs that were left in the room’s trash can. Various security cameras show his movements throughout the afternoon on Monday, which include visiting the office of the construction company he works for, going into the bank roughly 300 meters away, and then returning to the dormitory room once more before departing for good. Each time Takahashi’s image was captured by the security cameras, he was in a different pair of pants and shirt, seemingly attempting to evade the police.
Police said at the beginning of the hunt in Kawasaki they were able to track the signal from Takahashi’s cell phone, but that was quickly turned off. The investigators now suspect that he is traveling either on foot or by bus, however they have no clues about where he might be heading. Katsuya Takahashi is wanted for murder and attempted murder for his involvement in the Aum Shinrikyo’s use of sarin gas in the Tokyo subway attack of 1995. The attack left 13 people dead, and more than 6,000 injured.