In a span of four hours, from 9 am to 1 pm on Saturday, two persons on a bike, wearing helmets stole necklaces from people from six different areas in the Kollam district of Kerala. From the accounts given by the victims from whom the necklaces were stolen, the duo had threatened them at 'gunpoint' and asked them to hand over their necklaces.
The incident which took place in both the Kollam city and rural police station limits is being investigated by a team led by the Kollam East Circle Inspector (CI), who told TNM that the duo was not not using a gun, but it was actually a drilling machine. “We have managed to find that they were using a battery operated drilling machine to threaten people to hand over their ornaments. Since the machine looked like a small pistol, people got scared and mistook it for a gun,” said the CI.
The incident of thefts were reported from the areas of Pattathanam, Karbala, Beach Road, Altharamukku, Mulavana and Kuzhimathikadu. “We have recovered the helmets and the bike used by the two persons. We have also found the CCTV visuals of the accused and they have been identified as a couple of Hindi speakers,” said the police. The CI added that the duo might have left the state.
From the investigation, the police said that they managed to find that the bike which was used by the two persons were stolen from the premises of the Kundara railway station and according to the media, the bike belonged to a native of Kumbalam, who had parked it near the railway station. “The accused after stealing the bike had removed the number plate of the vehicle using the drilling machine, which they had later used to threaten people,” said the police.
According to media reports, a special team of police have been formed to nab the accused.