4 booked for cheating in Kochi event where MLA fell off stage
The FIR was filed on the complaint of a parent of a child who had taken part in the “Mridanganadam” event at which 12,000 Bharatnatyam dancers performed
A case of cheating and criminal breach of trust was filed on Wednesday against four people including the chief executive officer (CEO) of the firm that conducted the dance event in Kochi on December 29 where Congress MLA Uma Thomas fell from the 15-feet high stage and suffered serious injuries, police said.
The FIR was filed at the Palarivattom police station based on the complaint of a parent of a child who had taken part in the “Mridanganadam” event at which 12,000 Bharatnatyam dancers performed simultaneously to clinch the Guinness World record.
The case was filed against Shameer Abdul Rahim, CEO of Mridanga Vision, Nigosh, proprietor, and two others for failing to deliver on the promises it made to the participants at the dance event after collecting ₹3,500 from each of them.
The case was filed under sections 316(6)(2) (criminal breach of trust) and 318 (4) (cheating and fraudulently inducing someone to deliver property) under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, police said. The manager of an event management company was arrested on Monday over security lapses that resulted in the accident.
The complainant, a mother of one of the participants, alleged that the organisers collected ₹2,000 as registration fees and ₹1,600 for dance costumes from each participant, but did not deliver on its promise of handing out certificates or arranging proper transport facilities. The Guinness Record certificate was given in the name of the organisers, she stated in the complaint.
The organisers have already come under fire for not ensuring proper safety protocols on the temporarily-constructed stage at the JLN stadium in Kochi from where the MLA Uma Thomas fell and was subsequently hospitalised. At least three people including the event manager have been arrested in the case.
Meanwhile, the health condition of the MLA, admitted to a private hospital in Kochi, improved on Wednesday and the legislator was able to open her eyes and communicate with her children and others, said hospital officials.
While there is no deterioration in the injuries to her brain, those in the lungs remain serious and are being monitored constantly, said doctors. She continues to remain on ventilator support, the officials added.
With PTI inputs
