KOCHI: While on his way to Durbar Hall ground to witness the Shiva temple festival, Suhas, a 34-year-old resident of Gandhi Nagar, Kadavanthra never imagined he would have to return home without his scooter. Two unidentified culprits took the key to his scooter and fled the spot. What is even more shocking to him, is the convincing narrative they used to steal his two-wheeler.
“The incident occurred on February 13. When I reached the ground around 3 am, the two-wheeler parking lots were full. There was a huge crowd there, all of who came to be part of their temple festival. I found a vacant space in front of the Ramavarma Club. While I was trying to park the scooter, I lost balance and the scooter fell on another two-wheeler parked next to it. While I was struggling to lift my scooter, two persons wearing masks came to me, claiming the other two-wheeler, on which mine fell, was theirs. I apologised to them and they helped me park my scooter. As I walked into the temple, I noticed my key missing and went back to check if I left it on my scooter. To my shock, my scooter itself was missing. I called up my brother and we immediately checked the entire ground for it,” Suhas said. He adds that a few people even doubted if the duo that tricked him were recovery agents of the bank which gave him the two-wheeler loan.
“My scooter was taken on a loan. But I closed the loan three years back and have received the No Objection Certificate from the bank,” he said. Suhas and his brother tried to look for any video proof to identify the culprits, but the ground didn’t have any CCTV cameras. “I filed a complaint with central police station and they have launched a probe,” he added. Police officials said a case has been registered in connection with the theft on February 19. “We are checking the CCTV visuals from other cameras to try and spot the accused,” they said.