Kanjirappally: The Kerala Police squirmed in shame recently as a cop was seen stealing a few mangoes from a shop here night.
As the CCTV images of the incident spread on the internet, the local police had to book the culprit. Now an apparent bid is on to settle the case and let him go scot-free.
A few weeks ago the Kanjirappally police had booked P V Shihab, a Civil Police Officer with the Armed Reserve Police Camp, for stealing mangoes from a vegetable wholesale shop.
Now, the trader has petitioned the Court seeking permission to settle the case.
In the plea submitted with the Kanjirappally Judicial First-Class Magistrate Court, the complainant stated that he has been compensated by the cop for the loss he incurred and hence does not wish to proceed with the case.
The Court has sought a report from the police after the trader filed the plea.
On September 30, the cop, who was returning after his duty during the wee hours, stole raw mangoes which were kept in crates outside the vegetable shop at Kanjirappally town.
He kept the mangoes on his scooter’s under-seat storage. The visuals recorded in CCTV cameras on the premises were collected by the police.
Though the cop had tried to settle the theft case initially, with the video footage going viral on social media platforms, a case was charged October 3.
The policeman was suspended too. Shihab is reportedly untraceable. He went into hiding as soon as the case was filed.
