Amidst a massive scare wave that has swept Kottayam and its neighbouring townships, the District Police have launched an intensive drive to bust an alleged interstate gang of bandits.
According to Shilpa Dyavaiah, District Police Chief, night patrolling, in association with residents associations and the public, has been intensified in view of the rising cases of thefts and theft attempts. As many as 50 police vehicles including 13 motorcycles and 25 vehicles took part in the patrolling mission carried out on Monday midnight.
The drive comes amidst reports of a gang of dreaded bandits from Tamil Nadu (Kuruvas) landing in Kottayam. Ever since a video footage of three armed men moving under the cover of the dark emerged from Athirampuzha a few days ago, reports about them from different locations are flying thick and fast in social media.
Adding to the speculations, robbery attempts were reported from a handful of houses across the Athirampuzha and Adichira regions near Ettumanur. At the same time, an incident of thieves striking a locked house near Ponkunnam and decamping with cash and gold left the public even more worried.
“Confronted by a flurry of messages on the robbers from different locations, the police are now spending time and resources on following up on them. The investigations, however, have so far failed to bring out anything solid on the presence of Kuruvas at these locations,” said a senior police officer.
But with the eyewitnesses standing up to their claims, the police cannot afford to dismiss any leads.
Meanwhile, officials have warned that these messages are likely to create law and order situations. For instance, the police had to intervene when a group of local people detained an old woman from Ayarkunnam on the suspicion of her being a member of the robbery gang. A similar incident was reported from Kadappur, near Kaduthuruthy, when the police took custody of an unidentified man and later let him off.
“Being hit by an armed gang of robbers is the worst fear of every household. Naturally, the people will be reacting sharply towards such people and unfortunately, migrant workers are likely to be mostly at the receiving end,” the officer added.
