Fraudster plays victim card, creates ruckus in Tambaram railway station

Chennai: After being caught by a section of passengers for his alleged cheating of an elderly man, a 21-year-old fraudster played the victim card to create arguments between his subjugators and other passengers, on Friday.

According to a Government Railway Police source, Manikandan (21) of Kancheepuram had approached an 80-year-old man in the guise of helping him to buy a train ticket. “Believing him, the elderly man handed over Rs 200 and sat on a bench,” the police said. But, after standing for a while in the queue, Manikandan was said to have tried to slip away from the spot deceitfully.

Hearing the elderly man’s cries for help, other passengers tried to catch Manikandan but he managed to elude them for nearly a kilometre. “The passengers brought the man back to the railway station to hand him over to the police. But he shouted for help and alleged that the passengers who had caught him were threatening with a knife for his belongings,” the source added.

Believing him, a few passengers started to argue with them. However, the commotion ended after the deception of Manikandan was exposed. He was handed over to the Government Railway Police. “However, the elderly man refused to file a formal complaint as he was in a hurry to catch the Pallavan Express,” the police said. Meanwhile, during the interrogation, it had emerged that Manikandan has been deceiving elderly passengers in city railway stations.