Mysore/Mysuru: Senior citizens in Mysuru continue to be targeted by criminals who stage fake accidents to extort money.

In an incident that occurred on May 27, which has now come to light, two senior citizens were nearly duped by a gang near Aditya Circle on Ring Road, Dattagalli. Thanks to their presence of mind and the alertness of the public, the extortion bid was foiled.

The victims were N. Gangaraj, a resident of LIG Janathanagar T.K. (JTK) Layout Third Stage, and his friend, a retired Executive Engineer. The incident took place around 10.30 pm while they were returning home after dinner.

After dining at a hotel near Aditya Circle, the duo was heading towards the main road in their Baleno car, with Gangaraj at the wheel. As they turned onto the service road, an autorickshaw coming from the opposite direction deliberately rammed into their vehicle on the left side and came to a halt.

The autorickshaw carried five people, including the driver. Sensing foul play, Gangaraj realised the crash was intentional. The group got down, forced the two senior citizens out of the car, hurled abuses and accused them of drunken driving.

They even snatched their mobile phones and demanded Rs. 50,000 as compensation for the supposed damage to their auto.

Gangaraj calmly explained that they had only eaten dinner and had not consumed alcohol. However, the gang continued to insist they were drunk and must pay up. Pretending to comply, Gangaraj told them he would borrow money from a friend who owns a nearby hotel. In reality, he intended to alert the Police.

Meanwhile, the commotion caught the attention of passers-by, who immediately informed the Police.

A Garuda team rushed to the spot and took everyone — the five accused and the two senior citizens — to Kuvempunagar Police Station.

At the station, the gang persisted with their false accusations. However, an alcohol test cleared Gangaraj and his friend of any alcohol consumption. On reviewing CCTV footage, the Police confirmed that the autorickshaw driver was at fault and had orchestrated the collision as part of an extortion plot.

Realising their bluff had been exposed, four of the accused quietly slipped away from the Police Station, leaving only the auto driver behind. He was made to sign an undertaking and was let off with a warning.

Later, the auto driver paid Rs. 15,000 to Gangaraj to cover the cost of repairs for the damage caused by the staged accident.

Dasara security duty has stretched resources

Senior citizens are being targeted in stretches such as Outer Ring Road, J.P. Nagar, Dattagalli, Saraswathipuram and Kuvempunagar, where many elders live and often drive alone in their cars. The criminals carefully choose locations without CCTV coverage to carry out their crimes, making it                     harder to track them.

We are doing our best to curb such incidents. However, with Dasara security and crowd management duties currently demanding significant manpower, our resources are stretched. Even so, our teams are actively monitoring and tracking these crimes to ensure the safety of senior citizens.

— Yogesh, Inspector, Kuvempunagar Police Station