The Ernakulam Rural Police on Monday arrested a person on charge of cheating people in the guise of running a matrimonial bureau. The arrested, Shyju Rajan, 28, a native of North Mararikulam in Cherthala, allegedly cheated dozens of victims by claiming to arrange marriage for potential grooms. According to the police, the accused placed matrimonial advertisements in newspapers on behalf of a fictitious company called Digital Matrimony. When contacted by potential clients, the accused sought the help of a field agent who was sent to the homes of the clients with photos of “brides”. The agent would then collect a registration fee of Rs.1,500 and an additional amount of Rs.1,000 as travel allowance, following which he would collect details of the grooms and provide them with two fake phone numbers.
Malaysian held with bullets at airport
A policeman hailing from Malaysia, identified as Mukundan, 31, who had come to Kerala for honeymoon, was arrested with bullets at the Cochin International Airport Limited on Sunday night. He was intercepted by CISF personnel during baggage checking and was later handed to the Nedumbassery police. Preliminary investigations revealed Mukundan had a licence to use gun in Malaysia. He had come to Kerala on May 23 with his wife. While the man was detained, his wife was allowed to fly back to Malaysia.
Epileptic patient drowns in canal
A 50-year-old woman drowned after she fell into a small canal during a bout of epilepsy on Monday afternoon. Asma Hassan (50), a native of Udayathuvathil in Panangadu, had taken her goats to a nearby canal when the incident took place around 12.30 p.m. According to the police, the victim was an epileptic patient and was known to have sudden bouts of the disease. Though she was taken to a private hospital, she succumbed to her injuries.
Man held at airport
for bomb threat
The Nedumbassery police detained a native of Irinjalakkuda for threatening the security officials at the Cochin International Airport Limited with bringing a bomb to the airport here. According to the police, the passenger, identified as Anoop Ali, was scheduled to board a flight to the Middle East on Sunday evening. While inspecting their baggage, the passenger told the staff at the check-in counter that his baggage contained a bomb. Following this, the check-in staff immediately alerted the CISF personnel who moved the baggage from the spot for checking.
Later, the CISF handed the person over to the police, who subjected him to a detailed interrogation. The person was booked under Section 118 (B) of the Kerala Police Act for deliberately misleading the police and was released on bail on Monday.
