Even when cops were closing in on him, Rijo Antony, the accused in the Chalakudy Federal Bank heist case, was playing a perfect host to the parish family meeting on Sunday. It was his turn to host the gathering.

Around noon, he went to the bakery and bought banana fritters and other snacks for 30 members who were to meet at his house at 2 pm. The meeting went on till 4.30 pm.

The participants were piqued by the unusual presence of cops in the area around Thannipara from Sunday morning. Five police vehicles zipped through the narrow lanes, and cops dropped in at neighbouring houses where CCTV cameras were installed.

Even during the gathering, the discussion centred around the bank robbery. One of the participants in the meeting said Rijo wasn't tense at all. He was busy serving tea and snacks along with his elder son.

"He has always been a jovial person. He served tea and snacks and actively engaged in discussion. When the theft matter came up, he even joked that the thief must be hiding somewhere in the jungle and that police won't ever catch him. When we talked about cops roaming around the area, he didn't seem bothered at all. We were really shocked later to see him getting arrested for the robbery," a member of the parish said.

Everyone cracked up over his japes. The jovial air that pervaded the meeting was followed by tense moments that gripped the neighbourhood by evening. Police took him into custody by evening as the neighbours looked on in disbelief.

Originally a resident of Meloor, which is 10 km away from Asaripara, Potta, Rijo and his wife visited the area frequently, scouting for a house to buy. A two-storey house built and put up for sale nearly three years ago caught their attention. They consulted with the neighbours and purchased it for an amount ranging between Rs 75 and Rs 80 lakh, residents in the know said.

They organised a housewarming ceremony and invited the neighbours and relatives. They hired a maid who worked through the day.
Rijo, who had lost his job in the Middle East and returned to Kerala during the Covid time, came across as a doting father of a boy and a girl.

"It's been hardly three years since they came and settled here. They got acquainted with us very soon. He was no troublemaker. With his wife away, he took good care of the children. Whenever there were some civic issues in the area, he was the first to alert me," said Jiji Thomson, ward councillor and a neighbour.

The police said his finances were in a deep hole. The resident had no inkling of his money woes. "The children studied in a good school, and it was not like he was a heavy drinker. We never suspected he had financial trouble," another resident said.