Gold smuggling: Another Gulf returnee kidnapped at gunpoint in Koyilandy
The Hindu
The hawala racket linked ambush and tactic of hostage-taking reported from rural areas have raised concern over increase in violent crimes in the Kozhikode district.
The Kozhikode rural police are probing into a complaint that a Gulf returnee of Muthambi village near Koyilandy in Kozhikode district was abducted at gun point by the four-member gang at 11.30 p.m. on Sunday. The incident came to light after the abductee, Haneefa Thoniyadatu, 33, was released on Monday with injuries. He was admitted to a private hospital.With the clock ticking down to the Lok Sabha election counting day on Tuesday, opposing fronts are perceptibly edgy and poised to continue the rancorous skirmishing that marked the campaign season in Kerala. The United Democratic Front, led by the Congress, is seemingly basking in the “interim victory” granted by various exit polls. The UDF discerns that its poll strategy of turning the polls foremostly into a damning referendum on the Left Democratic Front government’s perceived failures rather than BJP’s “divisive politics” at the national level stood a fighting chance of paying off.