With sores all over his legs and dragging a walking stick, the 70-year-old native of Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu was a picture of helplessness as he sought alms in front of mosques in Kozhikode.
However, those who came to offer namaz at the Kuttikkatoor Town Juma-ath mosque in Kozhikode on Monday were in for a shock when they found Rs 80,000 in cash and a passbook showing post office savings worth Rs 13 lakh! According to the police, Gali was offered food and shelter by the Kuttikkattoor Juma-ath on Saturday. As the old man expressed a wish to visit another mosque at Perumbavoor in Kochi and make an offering,
the local people decided to help him and collected about Rs 10,000. A jeep was arranged for this and he was despatched in it to Perumbavoor. However, he returned in the jeep within hours claiming that the offering had been made. He remained on the verandah of the Kuttikkattoor mosque on Monday evening as it rained heavily. On Tuesday, the local people, who grew suspicious of him, checked his bundle of rags when they stumbled on the money.
The deposit has been made in the Kethaar post office in Tuticorin. When quizzed by the police, Gali claimed that all the money were his earnings. The Kerala police are in touch with their Tamil Nadu counterparts to get to the bottom of the mystery.
