News from Kerala

Kochi: Gangs extort money from lone travelers following midnight in and around Ernakulam Vythila-Palarivattam Bypass. The group is active in the early hours when there is less crowd. Although many people have become victims in the incident, the fact that no one has complained is helping the fraud gang. Palarivattam Police informed that the victim of fraud approached with a complaint in Palachuvadu area. Early morning and long-distance travelers are victims of fraud.

A native of Fortu Kochi, who was traveling by car from Vytilaya to Palarivatta at three in the morning the other day, had a similar experience but was not ready to complain. Just before reaching the Palarivattam bridge, he was stopped on the road and robbed of money. He told Manorama Online that he did not file a complaint with the police because he was afraid that the gang would watch him. Even though the money is lost, the family does not agree to go to the police station because of it. But the information has been informed including the higher police officials.

The person who came on the bike circled and stopped the car. He pretended to be unwell and asked to come out. The car hit his bike and he was forced to come out saying that he had to talk because he was injured. He approached Vytyla and began to threaten her by saying that the vehicle had hit her and that she should pay compensation. Not knowing how he would react, he said he would pay and got into the car. As other vehicles were not passing by at that time and it was in a poorly lit area, he was afraid of what he would do if he went ahead. “Finally, they were allowed to go following giving money under pressure,” said Fortu, a native of Kochi.

After a few days, the fear of the incident left my mind. Although he knew that the vehicle had not hit anywhere, he came out following seeing the man’s pathetic expression. Later it became clear that it was a fraud, but he gave the money because he was afraid that he would attack him. When I told my friend regarding this, the police officer said that similar incidents had been reported earlier in Thrissur and now similar experiences have also been reported in Kochi. Police patrolling should be strengthened to prevent the incident from happening once more.’- he says.