Youths held with sacks of coins; freed later on

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The City Police on Friday pressed the panic button after they sighted a group of youngsters with several sacks full of coins.  However, after taking them into custody, the police found out that their alertness was in vain as the suspects turned out to be innocent workers of a prominent textile showroom in the city. The youths, all of them Tamil Nadu natives, were returning from the Reserve Bank of India office at Bakery Junction after exchanging currency notes collected at the shop for coins.   The incident occurred around 11.30 am on Friday. The youths, as many as 17 of them, were travelling in a van, which was stopped by the Traffic Police for inspection at Van Ross Junction near Bakery Junction. When they found  the coins in the sacks, they grew suspicious and took them to Cantonment police station nearby.  The police calculated that the youths possessed coins worth Rs 1 lakh. However, they told the police that they worked at a textile chain. Later, the supervisor of the shop was summoned, who produced all necessary documents and convinced the police of their innocence. Following this, the police let the youths free.  The police had acted in vigil as it was a known fact that terrorists within the country relied on coins to make bullets.