Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Aug 23: In a strange incident which happened in the city on Monday August 22, a youth who hired an auto rickshaw and used it to travel to various places, fled at the end without making payment of hire charges.

The auto rickshaw driver, who was to get Rs 960 from the youth, returned empty-handed from Suratkal to the city on Monday evening, duly cursing his bad luck.

The driver said that a youth aged about 35 approached him when he was waiting for passengers at the Ladyhill auto rickshaw park at about 2.30 pm on Monday and told him that he needed to go to Suratkal. On the way, he asked the driver to stop the three-wheeler near a hotel at Bykampady where he exchanged a Rs 2,000 currency note he was holding into smaller denomination notes. Once the auto rickshaw reached Suratkal, he wanted the vehicle to be taken to Krishnapura. From there, the youth went to Jokatte. During the period the rickshaw was parked there for about ten minutes, the youth visited two shops, and returned. He asked to be driven back to Suratkal, and when the auto rickshaw reached there, got the auto rickshaw stopped near the fish market.

The man then told the auto rickshaw driver that he would come back after visiting a particular shop which he referred by name, in Suratkal. He asked the driver to wait for him, and went away. As he did not return for long, the driver went to the shop and questioned them about the person. The shopkeeper said such a person has not come to his shop. The driver returned to his vehicle and began to wait for the man again.

Three women fish vendors who saw that the driver was waiting for long, questioned him. They told him that a man matching his description had cheated a fisherwoman here to the tune of Rs 500 by buying fish and running away, duly promising to come back with money. The auto driver realized that he was cheated.

The auto rickshaw driver says that the youth wore white trousers and white shirt. His complexion was black and was sporting a beard. He wore a thick chain around his neck which looked like having been made of gold. The youth also told him that he runs a finance firm in the city, the driver explained.

The driver said that the youth had urged him during the journey a couple of times to have juice, but that he had refused the offer. He has filed a complaint in this connection in Suratkal police station.