The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Soft targets for robbers

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Sunday, Jan 14, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Soft targets for robbers

The police suspect that a section of autorickshaw drivers are robbing people who visit bar hotels in the city, writes G. Anand

Citizens frequenting bar hotels in the city were becoming soft targets for robbers. Several instances of people being waylaid on their way out of bar hotels at night have come to the notice of the police. Only a small segment of the victims bother to lodge a complaint.

A small section of autorickshaw drivers in the city are behind the incidents of waylaying, police officials said.

On Thursday, the Peroorkada police arrested two autorickshaw drivers suspected to be responsible for several such incidents. Circle Inspector, Peroorkada, M. Radhakrishnan Nair, identified the accused as Ganesh and "Thondi" Sasi. He said the accused hung around bar hotels at night, particularly during the early days of the month when Government employees carry their salary. Their method of operation was to beat inebriated persons and decamp with their money. Sometimes the victims were dropped at out-of-the-way places to ensure that they do not get any help.

Meanwhile, a police proposal to issue identification cards to autorickshaw drivers in the city was hanging fire.

The police were also finding it difficult to stop a section of autorickshaw drivers from fleecing passengers at night. The police proposal to set up a second pre-paid counter in front of the KSRTC bus stand has met with stiff resistance from autorickshaw driver's trade unions.

The city police now insist that all autorickshaw drivers operating from Thampanoor after 7 p.m. register themselves every evening at the local police station. Drivers who do not are fined, Sub Inspector Sheen Tharayil said.

However, there is no such system in place at Kovalam where a high number of foreign tourists rely on auto rickshaws.

A section of autorickshaw drivers often overcharge foreigners but the police have done little about the exploitation, a hotelier at the beach resort said.

There are three autorickshaw stands at Kovalam and at least 50 autorickshaws are parked in the resort area at any given time. Sub Inspector, Kovalam, Radhakrishnan Nair, said he was yet to receive any complaint from foreign tourists against auto rickshaw drivers.

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