While Marine Drive is undergoing a facelift, the absence of personnel at the police outpost there has led to anti-social elements posing a threat to joggers.
KOCHI: While Marine Drive is undergoing a facelift, the absence of personnel at the police outpost there has led to anti-social elements posing a threat to joggers. The latest to escape with minimal injury from a nasty experience at Marine Drive is advocate Mathew B Kurian who was attacked by a mentally-ill person on the walkway on Wednesday.According to a complaint filed by Kurian at the Ernakulam Central police station, the person charged at him with a piece of tile around 7.35am.
“I was returning through the rainbow bridge after my regular jog near the Abdul Kalam Marg. A youngster who was facing the other way took a piece of paving tile, turned around suddenly and threw it at my face. As I took evasive action, it only hit above my left ear. But I fell to the ground in the attack. He threw another stone at me. Luckily, it didn’t hit me. I escaped quickly to the other side. Fortunately, I didn’t suffer any cut to my head. But it was a shocking experience,” he said.
Kurian said another person was injured by the youngster.“He attacked a senior citizen with an iron rod right before the attack on me. He suffered a severe wound on his leg and was bleeding. I also heard the person had attacked contract workers with the water metro project as well. It’s very unfortunate to see back-to-back crimes happening at a prime location in the city,” he said.
Later, the police took the attacker into custody and admitted him to the Ernakulam General Hospital.
“The attacker was mentally-deranged and has been roaming around the city for a while. He was employed at a few hotels in the past and became jobless due to his mental condition,” said a police officer with the Central station.
Visitors to the walkway have alleged that the non-functional police outpost, which was installed following a High Court directive and was left unmanned after the Covid-19 outbreak, is the prime reason for the increasing number of crimes in the area.“Many of us have been reaching out to the City Police Commissioner’s office over the past few months,” said a regular visitor to the walkway who did not wish to be named.
“Ever since the unavailability of officers at the outpost, crimes have been on the rise at Marine Drive. The walkway has turned into a hotbed of drug addicts and anti-social elements. “Even while development worth crores of rupees is happening in the area, it is a shame to say that a majority of denizens are scared to come to the place these days.”
What visitors say
Visitors to the walkway have alleged that the non-functional police outpost, which was installed following a High Court directive and was left unmanned after the Covid-19 outbreak, is the prime reason for the increasing number of crimes in the area.
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