COIMBATORE: A group of 30 men allegedly waylaid a Kerala police team late Saturday night near Kaniyur, on the outskirts of Coimbatore, and freed a man who had been secured near Sriperumpudu. They then fled with him. Coimbatore police were sceptical about the team’s account.
According to the complaint filed by Sub Inspector SI Aneesh Kumar of the Kerala police team with Karumathampatty police, the team was taking a financier named Maharajan, native of Ernakulam now living in Sriperumpudur, to be presented at court. He had allegedly lent money to one Jacob of Ernakulam, taking an SUV as pledge. After Jacob returned the money, Maharajan refused to return the vehicle. Ernakulam police booked Maharajan and traced him to Sriperumpudur. A four-member team, led by Aneesh Kumar, arrested him Saturday morning and were taking him to Kerala.
The complaint said when their car was approaching Kaniyur toll gate, near Karumathampatty, 30 men in two cars blocked the way and forced them to release Maharajan, who fled with the men. Karumathampatty police registered a case and a special team has been formed to trace the alleged culprits.
However, a senior official from Coimbatore Rural police said, “The place where the incident reportedly took place is a busy area. And 30 people cannot travel in two cars. The statement of the Kerala police is not plausible.” Coimbatore SP Pa Moorthy had similar doubts. Although no CCTV footage of the incident could be found, he said people at the alleged scene of crime confirmed there was crowd there at the reported time. “The team was not waylaid. A group of people might have had some discussion with them. There is no clarity about what actually happened,” he said.