Unhappy with life and work, and finding himself homeless, a man from Tamil Nadu planned to get himself arrested in order to have a roof over his head and get food every day. The incident from Erode highlights the helplessness of people who don’t have much support, and would rather put up with the rough life of prison than the indignity of a ‘free’ life outside.

According to a report in The New Indian Express, on Sunday, around 5 pm, the police control room in Chennai received two phone calls. One informed the police of an impending bomb blast at Erode Junction railway station while the second phone call announced that a bomb will explode in the bus stand in the city. The police alerted the bomb squad and conducted extensive checks in both these places immediately. Another set of policemen swung into action to trace the mobile number from which the call was made.

The number was traced to one Sivakumar who claimed to have given his phone to his brother-in-law Linguraj. When the police rounded up Linguraj, he stated that his phone was stolen a couple of days ago. The police finally zeroed in on Santhosh Kumar, who was found sleeping at Erode railway station. Suspicious about him, the police picked him up in the wee hours of Monday and checked his phone. They found that he had indeed made multiple calls to the police control room.

Upon questioning Santhosh, the police found that Santhosh Kumar was working in a private firm in Mettupalayam and had two wives. Santhosh was allegedly left by both his wives. He hated his job, so he quit and moved to Erode in search of work. Unemployed, homeless, and penniless, a desperate Santhosh made the hoax calls in order to get arrested for the sake of a few decent meals and a roof over his head. This led him to steal a mobile phone from Linguraj on November 1.

Santhosh Kumar has been arrested and remanded in police custody.