Two break-ins, on consecutive days this week, seem to have caught the district police off guard.
The most recent one was the burglary at a jewellery showroom at busy Balaramapuram Junction. The thieves had broken into the shop by tunnelling through its rear wall during the early hours of Monday.
They apparently could not open the iron-chest in which the bulk of the ornaments and the day's sales proceeds were stored.
However, the burglars emptied all the shelves on which ornaments were displayed for sale. The owners of the shop have reported the loss of gold ornaments weighing nearly 2 kg.
Deputy Superintendent of Police, Neyyattinkara, P. Gopakumar told reporters that efforts were under way to crack the burglary. Investigators lifted several fingerprints from the scene of the crime. They said they would compare the fingerprints with those of professional burglars listed on police crime records. The police were also investigating whether the burglary was an insurance-related crime.
Daylight burglary
On Sunday, a daylight break-in was reported at a house near the City Police Commissioner's office. Anonymous persons had broken into the house of M. Anil Kumar at Elankam lane.
The house owner reported the loss of gold ornaments weighing 100 sovereigns and Rs.25,000 in currency.
The break-in had occurred when Mr. Anil's family was away to attend a function at the house of a relative in Neyyattinkara taluk.
The police said the burglars had broken into the house through the rear door. They then used the cooking cylinder in the house as a battering ram to open the second door, which led to the other rooms in the house.
The thieves apparently entered the bedroom and decamped with the ornaments and cash they found in the almirah.
The family returned home in the evening to find their house burgled.
City Police Commissioner T.J. Jose visited the scene of crime with other senior officials.
The police said that burglars seemed to be taking advantage of the summer vacation period, when a considerable section of citizens leave their home for extended holidays.
They have requested citizens going on long holidays to report their absence to the local police or the office-bearers of the residents' association concerned.
Investigators said that in most of the burglaries reported in the district, the thieves had broken into homes through relatively weak or ill-secured rear doors and those that lead to the terrace.
Slam-shut locks provided a higher degree of protection to homes than padlocks. The police said it was ideal to store gold ornaments in strong rooms in banks and all valuable property be insured against theft.
