Faits divers

Every day in the papers, apart from the headlines, I come across these intriguing, sometimes bizarre, often tragic stories. I’m including some examples below:

Man ‘robbed’ of one kidney

Bangalore: Raghavendra, 26, who went to Singapore, lured by the job market there, returned home after allegedly losing his kidney. The victim is a native of Kundapura, and has accused a family of stealing his kidney, without his knowledge and consent.

Police said Raghavendra has filed a complaint, saying he was lured to Singapore. He had met a person in Mangalore, who promised him a better job opportunity. When he landed in Bangalore, he was offered a job in Singapore.

“After the meeting in September last year, I was asked me to go through a medical test, which was conducted in Manipal Hospital. After the test, I had given my signatures on a few papers for passport and visa. As I am not well-versed in English, I just signed the papers without even reading the material. They told me this was the procedure, before flying to Singapore,’’ he said.

He says he received his passport and visa on December 17 last year and was taken to Singapore and operated in a hospital. “I was unconscious all through the surgery and later, I felt something wrong. When I inquired later, I was told there was a lump in my stomach, which had to be removed."

When he returned, Raghavendra got suspicious and went for a check-up to a hospital in Kundapur. He found his kidney missing. “Then I called up the family and questioned them, but they started threatening me. I was worried and fearing that my old parents would be upset, I did not make it public. But later, my health started deteriorating and I had severe back pain. I have now registered a police complaint," he added.

Police said Raghavendra was taken to Dr Ambedkar Medical College for a test and was asked to come on Wednesday. Investigations are on to see whether he has actually been cheated, police added.

Men pose as cops, take away jewellery

Bangalore: The two posed as policemen in mufti, and good samaritans at that. They approached two women who left a marriage hall in Basavanagudi, and advised them to take care of their jewellery and go home, as there was some commotion ahead.

The two ‘cops’ then hailed an autorickshaw, bundled them into it, and asked the autodriver to take care of the two women. Only after travelling for some distance did the women — Anasuya, 70, and her daughter Padmaja, 45 — realize that their jewellery worth Rs 3 lakh was missing.

According to police, while Anasuya and Padmaja were waiting for an autorickshaw at KR Road-HB Samaj Road Junction, the two men introduced themselves and warned them that a robbery had taken place ahead. They advised them to keep their jewellery safe in their bags.

They also offered to help them remove the jewellery, but the women declined, and put the jewels into their handbag. One of the men offered to lock it properly, and took the bag. Then, they hailed an auto.

It was the autodriver who grew suspicious, and after travelling some distance, asked the women about the men. When the women narrated what had happened, the driver pulled up the vehicle and asked them to check their jewellery. When they opened the bag, they found it missing.

Woman Kills Child, Self

Anita, 28, committed suicide with her daughter Harshita, 7, by jumping into an open well in Bagalur police station limits. According to police, Anita’s husband had deserted her sometime ago. She was living in a rented house and working with a private company. Recently, the company closed down and Anita did not had any source of income.

Couple Arrested

This couple looked like any other passengers on trains and buses. They would mingle easily with everyone and even offer soft drinks and tea to their co-passengers.

Passengers who succumbed to the drinks, laced with sleeping pills, would fall unconscious, and the couple would decamp with their valuables at the next station.

Upparpet police arrested the couple — Venkatesh, 28, and his wife Mamata, 21, residents of Bommanahalli. The accused had used this modus operandi to rob several passengers on trains like Bangalore-Mysore, Bangalore-Ramanagaram, Hassan-Arasikere and several other routes.

The police recovered 435 gm of gold, worth Rs 7 lakh. The couple had recently drugged a couple, Rajappa and Puttamma, at the Kempegowda bus station and stolen 170 gm of valuables, Rs 21,000 in cash and a debit card.

Fun Ride Turns Fatal

A fun ride on a tractor’s mudguard turned fatal for Vijay, 7, who was crushed under its rear wheel on Monday. The incident took place at 4 pm in Shanthipriya Layout, Electronic City. Vijay, who lives with his uncle, was playing with his friends when the tractor carrying a water tanker arrived to fill water. Since Vijay knew the driver, he boarded the tractor and sat on its bumper. When the driver moved the vehicle, Vijay fell down and was crushed under the rear wheel. Driver has been arrested.

Corpse lies on platform for hours

Bangalore: He could have been anyone — a young man, lying dead, his eyes open and facing the ground, face damaged, clothes torn, and his toes wounded. Flies and insects swarmed over him.

The corpse lay on Platform 4 at the City Railway Station. Passengers stopped to look, but all walked on. An aged person, Mrs Yashiya (name changed) decided to stick around and get the corpse a decent burial. She even kept her guest waiting, but her attempt went in vain.

Said Mrs Yashiya: “At 8.30 am, I came here to receive my guest. The train was delayed by more than an hour. I was looking for some space to sit when I spotted the body. I went to the coffee kiosk, where the attendant told me he knew about the corpse. Some other boys said the body was lying there for the past three days.”

“I went to the store room for help. The person there called a number but till I left, nobody had turned up. I stopped a railway policeman, but he just walked past. I also met one of the engineers, but he said it wasn’t his duty. Finally, I had to leave, it troubled me, I have seen even dead dogs on highways get a decent send-off,’’ she said.

By 11.30 am, a Railway Police official finally reached the spot. “This is a frequent sight here, particularly with handicapped beggars and child labourers who travel on trains. Some of them are found dead on platforms and while trying to cross tracks,’’ he said.

Asked about the delay in action, he said: “We came as soon as we were informed. The corpse couldn’t have been here for three days. It must have happened around 4.30 am today.’’ The body was sent to Victoria Hospital mortuary by late afternoon. The youth’s identity is still unknown. “He must be from North India as he had a tattoo in Hindi. Looks like he was a beggar,” the official said.