Daijiworld Media Network – Puttur (SP)

Puttur, Aug 28: An unsuspecting senior citizen from Uli village in Beltangady taluk was taken for a ride by a stranger, who disappeared into the oblivion after fleecing the old man. The incident occurred at Uppinangady in the taluk on Wednesday August 27, and Anni Gowda from the above village lost Rs 3,000 for the mistake of trusting a stranger.

Anni Gowda had come to Uppinangady to buy medicines. He boarded the bus at Kakkepadavu and reached Uppinangady bus stand, when a man approached him. The stranger, who struck a conversation with Gowda, spoke as if he knew the old man since ages. He also navigated Anni Gowda through an emotional journey by harping on his personal travails and sad incidents in the family.

By now the stranger had sensed the pulse of Anni Gowda, and that this person was suitable for playing his trick. He explained that his account with a bank located near the old bus stand had been credited with a sum of Rs 60,000. He claimed that the bank would allow him to draw this amount only after he remits a sum of Rs 3,000 to the bank. He requested Anni Gowda to help him in this task, by accompanying him to the bank branch.

As soon as the two approached the building in the first floor of which a bank branch is located, the youth asked Anni Gowda to wait near the stairs, telling the latter not to take the trouble of ascending the stairs,. He also handed over an envelope to Gowda, claiming that it contained a cheque, duly asking the old man to carefully hold it till he returns from the bank.

The youth, it transpired, went down the stairs from the other direction, and escaped from the eyes of Anni Gowda. Gowda, who waited at the spot for two hours, grew suspicious about the intention of the man. He opened the envelope and found a old ticket pertaining to Yakshagana performance instead of cheque. The man was not visible inside the bank. Some locals advised Anni Gowda to approach the police, but Anni Gowda thought it was not worth the trouble. He had no other choice but to return home, feeling cheated, losing faith in all strangers, and all along the way cursing the youth who had taken him for a ride.