Arun M By Express News Service KOCHI: A divine intervention is imperative to reach home safely with your valuables after landing on KSRTC bus stand premises in the city at night. It seems robbers are back after a lull. Virtually, the area has turned into a hub of anti-social elements, especially robbers. As many as 12 persons were arrested from the region on charges of robbery, pick-pocketing and theft during last month. Last Saturday night, a Kalamassery native and his friend were leaving a bar hotel near KSRTC bus stand after a drink. Once they stepped out of the hotel, three persons picked up a quarrel with them. The trio attacked them with knife and beer bottles. One of them snatched 1.5-sovereign gold chain of the Kalamassery native during the scuffle. When they tried to resist, the gang threatened them with a knife and fled from the spot. Later, the Ernakulam Central Police registered a case based on a complaint lodged by the youth. Following this, an inquiry-based on the CCTV visuals led to the arrest of Maneesh Prakash, 23, of Cherthala, from a lodge on Rajaji Road. During questioning he revealed the names of the other two accused. The two youths- Ajith, 23, a resident of Monastery Road, and Arun Raj, brother of Ajith, were arrested from their houses in the city. A piece of the gold chain was recovered from the lodge where Maneesh Prakash was staying. According to police officers, the accused were involved in many robbery cases. In yet another incident, Anoop Mathew, a teacher working in Malappuram lost his purse and a sum of Rs 26,000 when he arrived at the KSRTC bus stand around 9.30 pm on Friday. He was on way to his native place Kaduthuruthi in Kottayam. He had tea from a shop in the bus stand complex. When he was looking to pay the fare after catching a bus, he found that his purse was missing. According to him, the bus stand was crowded at that time. “I went to the police outpost to report the matter to the officials on duty at KSRTC stand. However, no police officials were present there at that time. Later I went to Central Police Station and lodged a complaint,” Anoop said. However, police officers said they are conducting regular checks in the area as part of crime control. “We are concentrating on the area near the KSRTC bus stand and have beefed up surveillance. Anti-social elements are creating issues at the place. Recently, we arrested three persons involved in pick-pocketing from the bus stand premises,” said Ernakulam Central CI Vijay Shankar. In the first week of this month, Anshad, 28, a native of Palluruthy was arrested for allegedly attacking a two-wheeler rider after blocking him on the road near KSRTC stand. The miscreant fled with the brand new motorcycle of the youth. The search for the co-accused, in this case, is underway. The grim reminder is that the city is witnessing a rise in robbery cases. “Lack of streetlights in most of byroads in the city makes walking alone in the night dangerous. The stretch near Pavakkulam temple towards Freedom Road has many dark areas where people fear to walk at night,” said Anupama Thomas, who works in a private firm. “People can be seen lurking in the dark corners, especially men in twos or threes. They park their bikes in dark corners and can be seen huddled together smoking or closely watching those walking on the road,” she said. According to Ernakulam ACP K Laljy the police are conducting special patrolling in KSRTC bus stand and railway stations at night. “If any person is found in a suspicious circumstance in these areas, he will be subjected to a thorough check,” he added. Police officials said they were conducting patrolling in two motorcycles and a jeep within the limits of Ernakulam Central police station.

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