Nagpur: The high incidents of burglaries, robberies and thefts continue to steal headlines in the Second Capital City in Maharashtra with two more fresh incidents of house break-ins being reported in the past twenty-four hours.
Burglars struck at two houses in Hudkeshwar and Shanti Nagar Police areas and made away with cash, diamond-studded jewellery and gold ornaments collectively worth Rs 8.50 lakh. The two latest episodes further add to the series of such incidents in the last few months even as burglars, chain snatchers, robbers, thieves and vehicle lifters are enjoying a free run in the city despite security measures planned by the police.
In the first incident, a gang of thieves struck at the residence of Pritish Gangadhar Chaple at Plot No 150, Old Subhedar Layout in the early hours of Monday. The house was locked as Chaple (37), who is an engineer working with a private company, had gone to the house of his in-laws. The burglars sneaked into the house after breaking the lock of the main door. The intruders opened the wooden diwan bed kept in the bedroom and took away diamond-studded jewellery and gold ornaments worth Rs 6 lakh. When Chaple returned home at around 1.30 pm, he was shocked to find the broken door lock and jewellery stolen from the diwan bed. He immediately informed the police about the incident.
Staff from Hudkeshwar Police Station arrived at the spot. On the basis of Chaple’s complaint, cops registered a case under Sections 454, 457 and 380 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Similarly, thieves made away Rs 9,000 cash and gold ornaments worth Rs 2.41 lakh from the house of a widow in Shanti Nagar area. The theft took place between 5 am and 12.30 pm when Tarabai Baliram Bhute (65) locked her house at Mudaliar Layout and went to her relative’s house. Taking advantage of the situation, burglars gained entry into the house after breaking the door lock. They collected cash and gold ornaments from an almirah and decamped with the booty.
Following Tarabai’s complaint, Shanti Nagar Police registered a case under Sections 454, 547 and 380 of the IPC.
The sudden spurt in serious crimes, mostly robberies and burglaries raised several eyebrows about patrolling by ‘crime busters.’ On Sunday night, desperadoes had looted Rs 16,300 and cell phones from two persons at knife point and had taken away a motorcycle worth Rs 48,000 from one of the victims near Police Talao. The same robbers then had looted cash from another citizen near New Katol Naka Square. On the same night bike-borne robbers snatched away a bag containing cash and a cell phone from a woman at Shraddhanandpeth Square in Bajaj Nagar Police Station area.
On Monday night, a scooterette-born robber snatched a gold chain from an elderly woman on the flyover near railway station in Sitabuldi area. Another bike-borne robber looted cash and a cell phone collectively worth Rs 3500 from Prabhavati Pramod Waranashiwar (75) near Radha Krishna Mandir, Surendra Nagar, in Bajaj Nagar Police Station area.
