A gang operating in city is targeting only aged persons driving four-wheelers

Mysore/Mysuru: Two-wheeler riders who are targeting senior citizens driving four-wheelers to extort money are blaming them of committing accidents. Three cases of such incidents taking place in a span of 15 days in city are reported.

After waylaying cars driven by elderly people, the criminals tell the old driver that he had hit their two-wheeler and the pillion rider had sustained injuries. The miscreants then extort money for the treatment from the senior citizens.

In one of such incidents, the criminals who targeted a retired Kannada Professor put forth a demand for Rs. 30,000 and finally extorted Rs. 1,400 from him.

The retired Professor, who was targeted, is Prof. K.P. Mahadevappa, a resident of Kuvempunagar E&F Block. On May 26, Prof. Mahadevappa was proceeding towards a Bank in Vijayanagar 2nd Stage. When he was passing near the University Guest House, he heard a sound. Mahadevappa, who did not stop the car, kept on driving slowly and when he neared the Paduvarahalli Traffic Signal Circle, two youths on a bike, overtook the car and waylaid it. While one of the youths sat on the roadside, the other youth came to the car and told Mahadevappa, “What sir, you hit our bike and kept going without stopping.”

Shocked at what the youth was saying, Mahadevappa told the youth that he had not hit their bike. The youth then asked Mahadevappa for a bottle of water and when Mahadevappa told him that he did not have, the youth went to the nearby Pani Puri push cart, brought water and poured it on the youth, who was sitting on the roadside and faking injuries.

The youth then told Mahadevappa to take the ‘injured’ youth in his car to a hospital while he follows them on the bike. When the car took a turn near St. Joseph’s School on Temple Road, the youth, who followed them on a bike told Mahadevappa to stop and told him that he would himself get the ‘injured’ youth treated. “The ‘injured’ is a labourer. You have caused injuries to him. How will he lead his life now?” the youth questioned Mahadevappa.

Mahadevappa said that when he told the youth that he would get the ‘injured’ treated, the youth told him that he (Mahadevappa) seemed to be in a hurry and demanded Rs. 30,000 from Mahadevappa.  When Mahadevappa told him that he does not have so much money with him and had only Rs. 1,400 in his purse, the youth told Mahadevappa to at least give Rs. 5,000 to which Mahadevappa told the youth that he could transfer the money through Google Pay or PhonePe. But the youths told Mahadevappa that they do not have the facility on their phone and took Rs. 1,400 from Mahadevappa and went away.

Mahadevappa further said that about three days ago two-wheeler riders had waylaid the car driven by Ramaiah, retired Director of the Department of Public Instruction and a resident of Kuvempunagar Police Station Road. After stopping the car near Vijaya Bank Circle, the youths abused Ramaiah by telling him that he had hit their bike and had extorted Rs. 500 from him. But Ramaiah did not lodge a Police complaint.

About a week back, A. Chandrappa, retired Professor of Commerce and a resident of Navilu Road in Kuvempunagar, also had a similar experience, Mahadevappa said and added that the miscreants were targeting senior citizens in the age group of 60 to 70 or above by saying that they had committed accident, threaten them and extort money besides stating that there was a gang which is committing such crimes in city.

Such incidents were also taking place on Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway: Such incidents were also frequently taking place on Mysuru-Bengaluru Highway before the Expressway was constructed. Due to timely action taken by the Police, after frequent complaints, such incidents had stopped. But now, these incidents are taking place in city limits and Police should act fast and take action.