Karnataka - Bangalore   

Robbers targeting Kerala merchants on the rise

INCIDENTS OF jewellers and fish merchants from Kozhikode district in Kerala being robbed of gold and cash are being regularly reported from the city.

At least seven such incidents have taken place in the past two-and-a-half years.

There has been a pattern in these robberies and most of the cases have remained unsolved.

In the latest incident reported on December 25, a businessman from Kozhikode was kidnapped from the city and was robbed of Rs. 6.50 lakhs in cash. The robbers kidnapped Mehammod in a van from Majestic area and took him near Doddaaladamara in Tavarakere police station limits. They relieved him of a bag containing the cash, pushed him out of the vehicle and sped away.

On April 21, a seven-member gang kidnapped two gold merchants and released them after robbing them of gold biscuits worth Rs. 40 lakhs and Rs. 2.50 lakhs in cash. Saleem and Zulfikar from Kuduvally in Kozhikode district were kidnapped in a van from near a hotel in Chickpet. They were taken near the Bellandur tank in HAL police station limits and robbed of seven kg of gold and Rs. 2.50 lakhs.

In what is said to be the first such incident, on April 1, 2002, four persons kidnapped two employees of Vidyasagar, a goldsmith from Kozhikode, and robbed them of Rs. 11 lakhs.

The incident took place in the Central police station limits when the two employees were on their way to catch a bus to Kerala. In another case, on February 10, 2004, a 10-member gang posing as Customs officials robbed the employee of a fish merchant of Rs. 26 lakhs in Kengeri police station limits. Andrew Thangal, an employee of Abdul Razak, a Kozhikode-based fish merchant, was travelling to Thalasherry in a Kerala State Transport Corporation bus, when he was robbed of the cash.

In the most infamous of these cases that was reported from Kengeri police station limits on August 27, 2002, a group allegedly led by the then Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic-Vijayanagar), A. Belliappa, robbed Danaraj and Manohar, employees of Sainuddin, a gold merchant from Kozhikode, of Rs. 19 lakhs.

Posing as Customs officials, Belliappa, sub-inspector Dasanna, head constable Parthasarathy, and constable Mohan allegedly dragged out Danaraj and Manohar from a Kerala-bound private bus and robbed them of the cash. Belliappa was later dismissed from service.

The police say that in all the incidents the "operation" was well planned and the robbers had a thorough knowledge of the victims. The police suspect some people from Kerala, particularly Kozhikode, with the support of criminals here, could have committed the robberies.

The police teams that visited Kerala after each incident have returned empty-handed.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous | Engagements |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Updates: Breaking News |

Stories in this Section

The brush made him forget the pain
Robbers targeting Kerala merchants on the rise
Three New Year revellers die in accidents
Labourer tries to kill sons, attempts suicide
Man found murdered
RSS leader V.A. Gopal dead
Around the City
In Bangalore Today

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu