KOCHI: Today, many youngsters seem to be fascinated by gangster characters like Ranga, played by Fahadh Faasil in the Malayalam movie, Avesham. However, this admiration almost led to the abduction of two college students in Kochi.
It all started when one of the youth, a student of a college in Kakkanad and residing in an off-campus hostel, befriended Akshay Shaji, a 22-year-old from Irinjalakuda, on Instagram. The latter portrayed himself as a gangster.
“The photos and videos Akshay posted on the social media platform made him appear as a gangster. All this likely captivated the students,” says a police officer. Akshay even offered to ‘assist’ the student with any trouble at college.
Trouble brewed soon enough. In early October, clashes broke out at the college between students from different batches over a love affair. The two youths, one hailing from Thrissur and the other, Pathanamthitta, were injured by seniors during this altercation.
“They mentioned the incident to Akshay over Instagram, and the latter vowed to avenge them,” the officer explains. However, the situation at the college was resolved through parental and administrative intervention.
Akshay the gangster, unaware of this development, arrived outside the college on October 17, accompanied by two friends. The students, who arrived subsequently on a scooter, informed Akshay that they no longer required his help as the matter had been settled.
Angered by this, Akshay forced the students onto the scooter, driving them towards the Kalamassery area.
During the journey, he declared that they were being abducted and would only be released upon the payment of Rs 15,000. He even threatened to kill them if they didn’t pay or involved the police.
One of the students managed to contacted his roommate, explaining the abduction and requesting him to arrange the money.
The roommate, however, reported the matter to the Infopark police and on the advice of officer J S Sajeev Kumar, informed the victims that he could bring a gold chain instead of cash. The arrangement was made to meet near Kakkand to hand over the chain.
“As Akshay and the students reached Kakkanad, our team, dressed in plain clothes, tracked them in auto-rickshaws. We intercepted the scooter near the Kochi SEZ area, and though the accused attempted to escape, we caught him,” Sajeev says.
After Akshay’s arrest, police identified his friend Rizal, an aviation student living in Maradu. In a desperate attempt to evade arrest, Rizal injured himself by slashing his wrist. He was quickly taken to a hospital for emergency care. The police later decided not to arrest Rizal, as he only had a passive involvement in the case.
“During interrogation, we discovered that Akshay had no connection with criminal gangs; he was, in fact, a drug dealer with previous narcotics charges. He worked on private buses in Irinjalakuda and used Instagram to lure students, intending to introduce them to drug use and sales,” Sajeev explains.
For Sajeev and his team, the relief was less about thwarting an abduction and more about saving the students from Akshay’s narcotics scheme. “One memorable moment was when one of the students, after being released, approached us proudly to say he had a black belt in karate,” a police officer shares.