What initially appeared to be a routine mobile phone robbery complaint at Ernakulam North Police Station turned into an unusual investigation involving a dating app, a chance encounter beneath a bridge and three men who exploited the circumstances.
It began when a man from Pathanamthitta approached the police, alleging that three men had assaulted him beneath North Bridge in Ernakulam and snatched his phone after forcing him to reveal the password.
The accused had allegedly transferred around `9,800 from his Google Pay account before fleeing with the device.
The complainant said he arrived in Ernakulam around 6pm to explore the city with a person he met on a dating app.
The complainant could not provide the person’s full name, address or photograph. With his phone stolen, accessing or retrieving the conversation was difficult.
“We initially suspected that the person he had met and the people who robbed him could be part of the same gang. We had no name, photograph or other identifying details. The only lead was the dating app itself,” recalled a police officer.
With limited leads, the police accessed the app from another phone. With the complainant’s assistance, they browsed profiles and identified the person he had met.
The profile belonged to a man named Athul (name changed).
The investigators initiated a conversation online. Its proximity feature helped them narrow down his location.
The trail eventually led them to a private firm where Athul worked as an accountant.
During questioning, Athul said he had no acquaintance with the alleged assailants. The police said the two men met beneath the bridge to spend time together. But their presence attracted attention.
A sex worker working in the area reportedly confronted them. An argument followed.
The commotion drew three men, Muhammad Ali, Firoz and another person known as Kodimaram Jose. The police suspected the trio exploited the situation, believing the two strangers might be reluctant to approach the police, fearing homophobic reactions.
“The accused allegedly assaulted the men, threatened them with a paper-cutting blade and demanded their valuables. The complainant’s mobile phone was taken, and money was transferred from his Google Pay account,” the official said.
A video recorded by a sex worker in the vicinity proved crucial to the investigation. The footage helped the police reconstruct the sequence of events and identify the alleged perpetrators.
Soon, the police found that Muhammad worked as a security guard, while Firoz was suspected to have a criminal background. Jose was already known to the police.
Tracing the suspects, however, proved challenging. The police contacted Muhammad’s contractor and obtained his phone number.
Eventually, they apprehended him, and Muhammad disclosed the involvement of the other two.
According to the officer, after learning about the investigation, Jose fled to Thrissur.
The police tracked Firoz through his phone location and set up teams to monitor his movements. By 3am, the teams traced him to his rented accommodation.
“He created quite a commotion when we went to apprehend him. Around seven police personnel had to join together to bring him under control,” the officer recalled.
The investigation then shifted to Thrissur. Around two weeks later, the Thrissur police team traced and apprehended Jose.
What began as a stolen mobile phone case became an investigation that relied on an unlikely digital lead, a video recorded by a witness and coordinated efforts across two districts.
