Date:02/07/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/07/02/stories/2007070257880300.htm

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

People suffer as swindlers ‘change’ their tool

Staff Reporter

Residents complain of tricksters at Maithri meeting

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Representatives of various residents association in the city have complained of tricksters swindling residents of their money requesting for a change of cash.

Tricksters who work on the naivety of a resident request him/her for a change of cash for denominations of Rs.500 or Rs.1,000, the moment the change is handed over, the swindler flees with his accomplice on a two-wheeler without bothering to return the equivalent amount to the resident.

The incident was highlighted at a meeting of Maithri, a community policing programme, held in the city on Sunday. The meeting discussed some of the methods of operation adopted by modern day criminals to con the public.

As V. Suresh Kumar, Circle Inspector, Medical College Police Station, who presided over the meeting remarked, the present day criminals are sophisticated enough to take house owners into confidence before committing crimes.

However, he added that nearly 80 per cent of the known offenders in the city were behind bars. “The majority of burglaries and thefts in the city today are carried out by people from outside the State, especially migrant labourers from Tamil Nadu and Orissa,” said Mr. Kumar.

Thekkummodu Sumesh A.K., convener, Maithri, requested the police to depute a flying squad comprising women constables to nab migrant women vagabonds who indulged in criminal activities.

Some of the issues highlighted were lack of parking facilities, frequent disruption of electricity, absence of streetlights, harassment by anti-social elements, water shortage, digging of roads and encroachments on footpath.

The residents of Vivekananda Nagar pointed out that water supply to flats were being misused by contractors. They insisted that fogging machine should be used more frequently in areas coming under the Medical College Police station limits to prevent breeding of mosquitoes.

The meeting was attended by the representatives of over 70 residents associations coming under the Medical College police station limits.