Puttur: Shop from where policeman falsely obtained SIM card gutted in fire
Daijiworld Media Network - Puttur
Puttur, Feb 8: A shop selling mobile SIM cards was gutted in fire at Uppinangady here late night on Thursday February 6. Incidentally, the shop, named Balaji, was the one from where a policeman had obtained a SIM card for personal use by allegedly misusing a passport applicant's documents.
The shop, located at Bank road in Uppinangady, was run by Srikanth from Gujarat.
The fire, which erupted late night on Thursday was noticed by a watchman who later registered a complaint at the local police station.
A few days back, Shabeer, a resident near Uppinangady Math, had filed a complaint with the IGP (Western Range) that a constable identified as Laxmeesha of Uppinangady police station had misused the documents submitted by Shabeer for passport verification and obtained a SIM card from Srikanth's Balaji shop for personal use.
Now, the fact that the same mobile shop got gutted in fire has raised a few eyebrows.
Moreover, the watchman in his complaint has reportedly stated that the shop was set afire by a few miscreants on Thursday night. This has led to further suspicions that it might have been a deliberate attempt to dilute or mislead the case against the policeman and the shop owner.
The locals pointed out that while Uppinangady police shown reluctance in filing complaints of robberies and other crimes in the recent past, they willingly registered the complaint of fire mishap, thus giving rise to more suspicion.
It is also said that shop owner Srikanth was not present in the town at the time of the fire incident. The locals alleged that the fire was nothing but a ploy to save the accused shop owner and the policeman.