KOCHI: In Kochi city these days, families could well be playing into the hands of burglars even in broad daylight if they choose to do something as banal as going for a movie after locking the house. Giving a tough time to the City police, professional burglars are on the prowl in the city, identifying potential targets in residential areas to break into and decamp with valuables while the inmates are out for shopping, movie or visiting places of worship.
The latest incident occurred at a house situated on South Janatha Road which was burgled on Sunday evening when the occupants were visiting a temple nearby. The incident is believed to have taken place between 5. 30 pm-8.30 pm as the family members had left the house by 5.30 pm and returned by 8.30 pm to find the back door of the house damaged and the contents of drawers and cupboards emptied on the floor.
Officers suspect the involvement of a professional group since only a gang which has been keeping a close watch on the house and the surroundings could have managed to carry out the heist without getting noticed. “The house is situated by the main road. The robbers might have zeroed in on the house after noticing a vacant plot on the back side,” said a police officer.
Kochi City ACP P S Suresh said they will scour CCTV footage from an adjacent building to establish identity of the culprits. “We have collected fingerprints from the scene which will be crosschecked with our database,” he said.
According to the police, they will be able to discuss further details only after making a detailed assessment. “The burglars forced open the rear door to enter the house. Once inside, they broke the locks of two doors to get into the bedrooms. Surprisingly, none of the neighbours heard any noise. Since it was a Sunday, there were fewer persons out on the road,” they said.
K A S Panikkar, the master of the house, said they lost nearly 10 sovereigns of gold, besides cash. “The robbers took only gold and the cash. They might have been closely watching our activities for the last few days. They decided to break in when we left for the temple,” he said.