Woman collapses after excise inspection goes wrong; High drama in Fort Kochi

FORT KOCHI: An Excise team entered the wrong house in the early hours of Thursday morning, leading to the house resident collapsing after mistaking them for thieves. The woman, a native of Edappal, Malappuram, collapsed after the team created a terrifying atmosphere and refused to even produce identification cards. The incident occurred on Thursday at 4:00 AM at Fernandez Garden, near Adhikari Valappu in Fort Kochi.

According to the women, the excise team shone a torch into the house through a window and demanded that the door be opened, or else threatened to break it. The Excise team had arrived from Kattappana in Idukki in search of an individual named in a warrant. Although they initially reached the home of the actual suspect, the occupants there directed them to the house of a couple living nearby. In the meantime, the suspect managed to slip away.

The young woman was alone at home at the time of the incident as her husband, who works at a hotel in Fort Kochi, was on a night shift. Terrified by the aggressive nature of the Excise officials, she summoned her husband home. When neighbours arrived upon hearing the commotion, the Excise officials—realising their mistake—slipped away quietly. The woman later sought medical treatment at a hospital. An investigation was initiated following a complaint filed by her husband at the Fort Kochi Police Station. Meanwhile, there are indications that the Excise team met with the couple in person and offered an apology.