KOCHI: The back-to-back break-ins at Pulleppady and Tripunithura, which shocked the city’s collective conscience, interestingly has a common line running through them - in both the cases the burglars targeted houses situated in desolate areas near Railway tracks.In the light of this, the police have issued specific warnings to people residing in the vicinity of Railway tracks. The IG’s message also urges people to keep an eye out for big groups alighting at Railway stations and nearby places.
The labour camps of migrant workers too are under the scanner. “The patrolling along the railway tracks had stopped and this left the area vulnerable to such attacks. The people here now sleep with the lights turned on and they remain on constant alert,” said KG Manoj Kumar residing at Eroor.
A team of officers have gone to Maharashtra to verify some details on suspected groups. But nothing is clear as of now, according to official sources. The police identified four spots where the suspects were seen and investigations are underway in these areas.
“We have some proof with us. Our team has gone outside the state to verify the details. The execution of the crime was meticulously planned and the burglars must have observed the victims for some time. We are using all the avenues at our disposal and within a couple of days we will be able to establish their identity and they will be caught,” said DCP A R Premkumar, who heads the SIT probing the break-ins.
Additionally, the CCTV footage collected from outside the Central Theatre at Tripunithura has been verified. Police confirmed the 11- member group seen in the footage are indeed the culprits. The 11 suspects are also seen in the footage collected from four other spots. The police have not revealed these locations, though. The group has been spotted outside the Central Theatre ahead of the robbery at Eroor. The theatre was screening a Tamil movie and the show had only 40 people in the audience. The suspects sat through the entire show and can be seen exiting the theatre.
The CCTV footages also show four people going in the direction of Anandakumar’s house at Tripunithura which had been robbed. Besides, it shows eight people rushing back from the area. Some of these people bear resemblance to those seen in the footage from the CCTV mounted outside the theatre.