KASARAGOD: In early 2017, M Mustafa (42) lent his car, a Zen Estilo, to his friend Hudayi Abdulla to ferry his ailing wife to hospital. He never got his car back. The friend stole his car and sold it off.
Despite filing several complaints with the police, the Regional Transport Office (RTO), appealing even to the State Human Rights Commission and moving the court, he never saw his car, until it zipped past him in Payyannur, two weeks ago.
"Now the car is in Bekal police station. I am yet to get it. But what I underwent is a testimony of the deep nexus between police and criminals," said Mustafa. Mustafa was an NRI working in the Middle East. He returned home for good after being diagnosed with falling platelet count, which prevents clotting.
He was eking out a living as a land broker near Bekal, when his neighbour Abdulla asked for his car to take his wife to hospital. "He never returned it and stopped attending my phone calls," he said.
As the next resort, he approached the Bekal police. "But the officers did not even bother to investigate the case," he said. He then filed a complaint with the district police chief, but nothing came out of it, either.
The indifference stunned Mustafa and he shot off a complaint to the chief minister. "All this while, Abdulla used to taunt me saying no one can touch even my hair," he said. Mustafa then filed a complaint with the Hosdurg court, which directed the Bekal Police to arrest the accused. "That finally worked. Or that’s what I was made to believe," he said.
Bekal police arrested Abdulla, and he was remanded in custody. “He was in prison for a few days and he came out on bail,” he said. One of the conditions for the bail was he should present himself before Bekal station every week.
"Till today, he does that and all these years, the police never bothered to ask him where the car was," said Mustafa. But he kept writing petitions to the police. He had also filed a complaint with the RTO in Kanhangad to prevent the sale of the car.
A few months ago, he got a phone call from Popular Vehicles and Service telling him that it was time to service his car. "I was surprised. I told the lady that my car was stolen three years ago. I was taken aback by what the lady told me," he said.
The executive of Popular told him that his car was serviced last year at Har Car in Kannur. “So I knew my car was in Kannur district. With this new information, I went to Bekal police again. But one officer asked me why was I coming to the station again and again,” he said.
Mustafa said he was shocked by the approach of the police. “They have a suspect. Now they know the car was in Kannur. Yet, they refused to act,” he said.
Two weeks ago, when Mustafa was going to Pariyaram Medical College for treatment, he saw his chocolate Zen Estilo (KL 60 C 5227) zipping past his bus. When he returned home, he went to the RTO in Kanhangad and asked the officials to search for his car in their system. Though Kanhangad RTO had blacklisted the car in May, 2017, it was sold to two persons.
According to the website, the car was re-registered by Naseema CV in Kannur RTO, and then by Mamy KA in Irrity RTO. "I am sure Abdulla made a fake registration certificate to sell off the car. But the police are not interested. Their disinterest makes me suspect at least a few officials are involved in this racket," he said.
From the RTO, Mustafa took the address of the present owner and gave it to the Bekal police. With nothing much to do, Bekal police informed the Irrikkur police which impounded the vehicle and now the car is at the Bekal station.
“It has been 10 days since the car is lying in the station. The bumper has fallen off and the car does not look in good shape. I don’t know how much time more I will have to wait before getting my car back,” he said.
When contacted, an officer in Bekal police station said the accused may not know the whereabouts of the car because it must have changed multiple hands. "The case was closed as the car was undetected. Now that we got the car, we will move the court for sanction to reopen the case," he said. The officer rejected all the other insinuations made by Mustafa. "That is his perception," he said.