A string of property crimes especially burglaries reported in the city and on the outskirts recently have put the law enforcers in a spot, notwithstanding their deterrent action against anti-socials time-to-time.
The burglaries occurred amid “combing operations” by the police that aimed at scanning the movement of criminals and bad characters to keep their activities under check, and patrolling by the “Alpha” teams in areas identified vulnerable and crime-prone.
The latest instance was burglaries in a couple of houses at Rajappa Nagar in Ariyamangalam area in the city a few days ago in which unidentified culprits made away with 87 sovereigns of gold jewellery when the inmates were away.
In a little over a month (from mid-June), seven burglaries were reported in the city and on the outskirts with the culprits decamping with over 250 sovereigns of gold jewellery.
In one instance, burglars took away two kilograms of silver articles from a jewellery shop at Kailash Nagar within Tiruverumbur police station limits last month.
It is not that the criminals have targeted only locked houses, they have daringly struck houses when the inmates were asleep.
The prominent one was the burglary in a grocery shop owner’s house at Ettupattai bungalow area in Woraiyur in mid–June when the intruders gained entry from the rear side by twisting the iron bars of a window and decamped with 160 sovereigns of gold jewellery and Rs.2 lakh in cash while the inmates were asleep.
Unknown culprits struck two other houses at Krishnamoorthy Nagar within K.K.Nagar police station limits and Shanmuga Nagar within Government Hospital police station limits when the inmates were asleep and made away with over 65 sovereigns of gold jewellery.
In a separate instance, culprits targeted four locked houses falling under Somarasampet police station limit early this month and managed to get away with nearly 10 sovereigns of gold jewellery and a gold wrist watch from three homes.
Though teams were on the job of cracking these cases, what is worrying is the ease with which culprits have managed to strike at will at a time when law enforcers have detained many anti-social elements under the Goondas Act.
The city police had detained 50 anti-social elements under the Goondas Act so far this year, say sources.
City police authorities created additional bike patrolling “Alpha” parties in March to cover eight more police stations to ensure intensive patrolling in crime-prone areas where four wheelers cannot reach.
The modus operandi of criminals have been changing with chain snatchers getting involved in house break-ins.
Even if the culprits are arrested, recovery of stolen property is a challenging task as criminals have a disposal mechanism of their own, police sources said.
Taking into account recurring instances of burglaries, the city police authorities have now decided to constitute a special team to go after criminals targeting houses.
Tiruchi rural police authorities on their part have constituted one special team in each sub division – Tiruverumbur, Jeeyapuram, Musiri, Manapparai, and Lalgudi – to detect the pending crime cases that were in the ‘under investigation’ stage in their respective jurisdiction, say police sources.
