A series of thefts and attempted burglary took place at Villivakkam on Monday night.
According to police, burglars broke collection boxes in Varasakthi Vinayagar Temple and Kamakshi Amman Temple at Villavakkam and stole cash. Temple staff Ramachandran of the Varasalthi Vinayagar Temple lodged a complaint that the burglars had forced open the collection box and wooden almirah.
The gang then broke locks in shops nearby. They took away money from around four shops. While the owner of a beauty parlour told police that Rs. 8,000 was missing from his shop, an electronics shop manager said Rs. 2,000 in cash had been stolen.
Maheswari (42), who runs an ‘idli’ shop, said that Rs. 2,000 she had borrowed for business and kept in the shop was stolen. In some shops, the burglars could not find any valuables, sources said.
“The accused broke locks in five shops. Collection boxes in two small temples were also broken. The area is covered by beat constables and night patrolling vehicles. We are checking if there was any slackness on the part of the police,” a senior police official said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Anna Nagar) M.T. Ganesamoorthy said a meeting with members of residents’ welfare association in the Villivakkam area was held recently. “We asked the residents to arrange volunteers for enrolment in the ‘Friends of Police’ scheme,” he said.
