• Mysuru-bound courier company driver targeted near Mandya 
• Argues with criminals; refuses to pay for ‘accident victim’

Mysuru/Mysore: If 2019 was dominated by crimes committed on highways including the Mysuru-Bengaluru Highway, Nanjangud Highway and several State Highways around Mysuru where commuters were robbed of cash, gold and valuables by faking accidents, one more incident was reported on the New Year Day, before the break of the dawn.

At 3.30 am on Jan. 1, 38-year-old Shankar, a resident of K.P. Convent Road in Gokulam Third Stage, who works as a driver in a courier company, was returning from Bengaluru in a tempo, carrying courier goods. There was less traffic on the road as it was wee hours. 

As the tempo was nearing Gejjalagere near Mandya, three bike-borne men, between 25 to 30 years, overtook his tempo and signalled Shankar to stop the vehicle. A confused Shankar obliged and as he got down from the vehicle, the three men started shouting at him on top of their voice. 

The men told Shankar that his tempo had hit their vehicle and one person had sustained “internal injuries.” 

“They abused me and said that I was driving under the influence of alcohol. Mustering courage, I told them that my vehicle had not met with any accident and asked them to show the dent caused due to the accident or show the injuries.” Shankar told Star of Mysore. 

Mustering courage

“The trio did not buckle and insisted that my tempo had indeed hit their bike and one person sustained internal injuries. They demanded Rs.50,000 for hospital treatment. I told them that I do not have that much cash and asked them to come to Mandya Police Station that was nearby. But they insisted me to come to Maddur and I refused,” Shankar said. 

Shankar then told them that he had read in newspapers about gangs targeting lone commuters by faking accidents. 

“One of the men even took out his phone and acted as if he was calling the Police. Somehow, I managed to wriggle out of the situation and even the criminals, wary that I knew about highway robberies, let me off. I drove the tempo to reach Mysuru,” Shankar said. 

Modus operandi

The modus operandi of the robbers is to target lone car drivers or couples. One of the accused usually throws a stone at the targeted vehicle so that the occupants of the vehicle hear a ‘thud’ sound. Soon, the criminals would chase the vehicle with their bike and after signalling the targeted vehicle to stop, they would claim that the vehicle had hit their bike. While one criminal fakes injury and acts as if he is in severe pain, the other negotiates a deal.