Though the police have caught 62-year-old Mariar Pootham and sent him to prison many times, he continues to steal from houses in Kochi’s Ernakulam North.
Mariar Pootham
There are some places which are close to people, which people are attached to no matter what. Similarly, the Ernakulam North region in Kochi seems to be such a place for Mariar Pootham, a notorious burglar, who seems to be committed to steal only from the houses in this region. Regardless of the number of times he gets caught by the police and sent to prison, once out, Mariar Pootham lands up here again to continue his ‘job’. The last time he came out of prison was six months ago. Various house break-ins and thefts continue to be reported from certain localities under the Ernakulam North Police station limit. Since he came out of prison, people in the region are now having sleepless nights in order to catch this burglar who seems so attached to the neighbourhood. The now 62-year-old Mariyar Pootham, originally named Johnson, hails from Marthandam in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari district. Though there are numerous stories on why Mariar Pootham continues to only steal from houses in the Ernakulam North police station limit, the popular one is that it is due to a grudge against a police officer in the station. But Ernakulam North police officials have another theory. “If it was so, he should have been stealing from across the station limits. But his activities are confined only to a certain portion in the region, namely SRM Road, Lisie Hospital region, Kolath Road etc. This is because he knows the place so well. He has been living here for over 50 years and he knows the nook and corner of the place,” says Assistant-Sub Inspector Vinod Krishna. According to him, Mariar Pootham had come to Kochi as a child to collect scraps. “He used to collect scrap from these regions particularly, that is why he is so familiar with the place,” adds the officer. It was in the late 2000’s that Mariar Pootham was first caught for stealing by the police. But being sent to prison seemingly does not affect him, as he continues to steal from the area once he is released. According to the police, Pootham has stolen over 100 gold items, among other things, from houses so far. Police state that he is “so efficient” in his methods that there have even been instances where he has broken into houses and stolen gold chains worn by people sleeping in their beds. According to the police, his modus operandi is that Mariar Pootham marks the house which he plans to break into during the daytime. “If it is an uninhabited house, he rests on top of the house in the morning and breaks in at night,” says the officer. It is also not an easy go to get hold of him, the officer adds, as Mariyar Pootham is a quick runner, known to run fast and over compound walls. His family remains in Marthandam, says police. “After each operation, his wife gets a missed call from him. If she doesn’t get his call, she will understand that he has been caught,” the official says about Mariar Pootham’s regular process. Though he is known to break into houses even while people are inside, Pootham has so far not attacked anyone during or after his operations, the official added. The Ernakulam North police say that measures are currently being taken to catch him. Read: Kerala boy files complaint on his missing tree, gets saplings and a CCTV as gifts Meet Rajappan, Kerala man who cleans the Vembanad Lake every day
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